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Star Of 'Deadliest Catch' Still Comes Home For Holidays

PITTSBURGH (NewsRadio 1020 KDKA) - He's a Navy veteran, commercial fisherman, captain and star of the popular, award winning, show on the Discovery Channel, "Deadliest Catch" and a native of Irwin.

Captain Wild Bill Wichrowski joined the "KDKA Morning News with Larry Richert and John Shumway" to talk about what it means to be home for the holidays.

How does a boy from Irwin end up crabbing in the Bering Sea? He says he has always been "a little bit of a gypsy." He adds he "enjoyed (himself) as a kid (running) up and down the eastern seaboard."

After that, he went to the west coast and ended up in Washington state meeting a "couple guys that were fisherman," and the rest is history.

He says that friends and family will contact him still wondering how he got to where he is today.

"There's no real script to it, it just kind of happened and I wouldn't change it for the world," he said.

Captain Wild Bill, who is in town visiting his mother, says after he left Pittsburgh in 1975, he didn't come back for over a dozen years. But, that's not the case anymore.

"I've been coming back more and more," he said. "Now that I do come back, it's pretty rewarding. I'm proud to be from here."

Even though most may imagine the captain living on his boat and fishing for king crab in the seas near Alaska, he actually makes his home in Mexico.

"Geese have small brains and they go south when it gets cold," he said.

Captain Wild Bill says of course he is a big Steelers fan.

"There's a (terrible) towel hanging in the wheel house on the boat," he said.

"Deadliest Catch" returns for its 11th season in April and for more information on Captain Wild Bill visit www.captwildbill.com

Listen to the "KDKA Morning News with Larry Richert and John Shumway" weekdays from 5 to 9 a.m. on NewsRadio 1020 KDKA

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