As Deadliest Catch season 19 plays out on Discovery in 2023, fans are asking what happened to Wild Bill. The crab fisherman rose to fame on the show over one decade ago and has become synonymous with the series much like his co-star Sig Hansen.

Wild Bill has experienced many ups and downs during his time on Deadliest Catch. Fishing for crab in all kinds of conditions on the Bering Sea is no easy job and he’s had the responsibility of being a captain for years.

He’s had to mourn the loss of some of his crew members, fire others and even deal with his boat, F/V Summer Bay, almost capsizing in the past.

What happened to Wild Bill from Deadliest Catch?

Discovery Channel viewers asking what happened to Wild Bill from Deadliest Catch in 2023 need not worry as he’s still a cast member on season 19 of the show.

In 2023, Wild Bill appears alongside Linda Greenlaw.

Linda and Bill are fishing aboard the Summer Bay this season. However, some fans may be asking about Bill’s whereabouts as Linda took the reins of the Summer Bay at points in season 19.

The Summer Bay captain has endured all kinds of things while filming Deadliest Catch. He received the sad news on camera that his team member Nick McGlashan had passed away in 2020.

However, during the season 19 finale, Wild Bill’s cancer diagnosis was revealed. A short clip filmed five months after Deadliest Catch shows a doctor telling the captain: “The MRIs show that your volume has enlarged” to a “medium size”.

Wild Bill is a respected captain

Showing no sign of slowing down in 2023, ‘Wild’ Bill Wichrowski has been a full-time cast member and captain on Deadliest Catch since season 6 in 2010.

After leaving high school in 1975, he went on to join the Navy. After serving time in the military, the Discovery star opted for a career as a crab fisherman.

Wild Bill has spent decades as a crab fisherman and worked his way up to become a well-respected captain.

Many of his fans take to social media to comment on Deadliest Catch appearances.

One wrote: “I can’t imagine how stoked Sean was when Wild Bill told him he’s a good fisherman. Compliment of a lifetime.”

@captwildbill We absolutely love you Bill- your such a good Captain and do your people right and your split second decisions are spot on! We hope to see more Deadliest Catch! #wildbill #deadliestcatch #rememberELSA #rememberNickM❤️

— NRC1 (@justniklpikl1) October 24, 2022

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Deadliest Catch star’s son is also a captain

Speaking Deadliest Catch, Wild Bill said that he’d been working on fishing vessels since 1989.

With all that experience under his belt, it makes sense that he would have shown his son the ropes when it comes to crab fishing.

In 2012, Wild Bill’s son, Zach Larson, started out as a greenhorn on his boat.

Nowadays, Zach writes in his Instagram bio that he’s captain of the F/V Elinore J.

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A post shared by Zack Larson (@zacklarson)

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