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Elliott Neese Officially Replaced By Jake Anderson As Captain Of The Saga On ‘Deadliest Catch’

By Heather Tooley
Published on: 05:56 PST, Mar 29, 2016

Capt. Elliott Neese is officially replaced by Jake Anderson of the F/V Saga on Deadliest Catch Season 12.

According to a tweet by Discovery, Anderson now commands the Saga, a boat once helmed by Neese. As the Inquisitr exclusively reported, Elliott Neese won’t be on Season 12 of the show. He’s taking time off after successfully completing rehab for drug and alcohol addiction.

Discovery confirmed Elliott’s absence via Twitter.

A video of Capt. Jake accompanied the tweet. He made serious changes to the Saga in an effort to rid it of any “remnants of the past.”

Elliott got bought out, and the owner hired Jake to take over. The new skipper is eager to make a statement of his own, and it began by changing as much as he could with the money he had to invest in it.

“I want to change the image of this boat badly,” Anderson says in the video. “It’s officially my boat.”

What did Anderson do to the vessel to fit it to his personal satisfaction? He added new flooring, paint, rebuilt the engines, and even replaced the captain’s chair.

“I want people to identify this boat with me,” the young captain said.

Any reminders of Elliott on the boat have been eliminated as much as Jake could manage with what he had.

Anderson said in a video released by Discovery that he didn’t care what it was on the Saga that represented its old owner, he changed it.

“I don’t care if it was a heater, a 50-inch screen TV – and I’m serious, it came off of this boat,” Anderson asserts. “It went in the f***king garbage because I don’t want anything to do with the disease that was left for me after last season.”

The new captain continued that even the crew is new on the Saga, with the exception of one.

“I made every change that I possibly could with the money that I had at the time,” Anderson shares. “The first thing I changed is this frickin’ captain’s chair and the crew. There’s only one thing that’s the same in the last year and that is Nick Tokman is staying.”

In Jake Anderson’s bio on Discovery, Season 12 is big for him as he captains the Saga as his own.

“Looking ahead to his first Kings season, the rookie captain will no longer be in the shadow of a mentor,” the bio reads in part. “It’s all on his shoulders and he’s already feeling the pressure to produce. King crab is big money; underperforming could hurt Jake’s reputation for years to come. For a young skipper, eager to prove his place among the big boys, it’s sink or swim.”

As the site notes, Capt. Jake has overcome many trials since his sister’s sudden death, his father’s murder, and beating an opiate addiction. He’s now ready to helm the Saga and prove himself.

https://www.facebook.com/CaptainElliottNeese/photos/pb.205514946251803.-2207520000.1456425859./432444913558804/?type=3&theater

Will Elliott Neese return next season? It’s unknown if he’s permanently off the series, but he’s taking some much-needed time off from Deadliest Catch while he gets himself back together after rehab. He received treatment at a rehab center in Malibu last spring. While there, he met a young woman he’s happily involved with and is currently living in Chicago with her.

Will Jake Anderson have what it takes to captain his own boat? He’s an experienced fisherman that Capt. Sig Hansen has spent a lot of time training. Now Anderson has a chance to show what he’s made of on the Bering Sea.

Deadliest Catch Season 12 premieres on Tuesday, March 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Discovery.

[Image via Discovery Channel]

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