Todd Meadows final moments with his children air in emotional 'Deadliest Catch' episode

Todd Meadows made an emotional posthumous appearance on Deadliest Catch nearly five months after his tragic death while filming the Discovery Channel series.

The July 17 episode introduced the 25-year-old deckhand as he prepared to begin his first season aboard the Aleutian Lady.

Before boarding the vessel Meadows shared a heartfelt FaceTime call with his three young children who told their father they already missed him.

"I love you guys," Meadows said before saying goodbye and heading out to sea.

Captain Rick Shelford introduced the young fisherman to viewers as "a devoted father" from Elma, Washington.

"Todd has been around boats and knows what's expected of him," Shelford said. "But he's green. He's never been on the Bering Sea."

The voyage would become Meadows' first and only season on the long-running reality series.

Meadows died on February 25 after falling overboard while working aboard the Aleutian Lady off the coast of Alaska.

According to the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District the crew reported that Meadows had fallen into the water about 170 miles north of Dutch Harbor.

"He was recovered unresponsive by the crew approximately 10 minutes later," the Coast Guard said. "First aid and attempts to resuscitate were unsuccessful."

Elsewhere in the same episode Wizard deckhand Lynn Guitard survived a terrifying fall overboard in rough seas while Captain Sig Hansen gave deckhand Sophia "Bob" Nielsen a chance to prove herself near the Russian fishing line.