About Aclassic - Salt in the veins - Wind in the hair
From the fish of a lifetime to record-breaking waves and wipeouts from hell, we bring you the most epic saltwater adventures straight from the people who lived them. This is more than just a podcast—it’s a front-row seat to the incredible lives of those who push the limits on and under the water.
We go beyond the action to uncover their journeys: their backgrounds, their training, and what drives them to chase their saltwater obsessions. Hear first-hand accounts of legendary fishing feats, death-defying surf sessions, and everything in between.
Fishing, Surfing, Spearfishing, and Plenty More
A 50kg Land-Based Yellowfin in Japan, on 10kg Line, with Hai Nguyen
A 50kg yellowfin tuna, caught land-based off the rocks in Japan, on 10kg line.
Today Hai Nguyen joins us to tell the full story. Years in the planning, a trip to a remote island in Japan, and a yellowfin landed off the rocks on line most people wouldn't dream of using for a fish that size.
Hai walks us through all of it. What sparked the trip, how he planned it, and how close it came to going wrong. The leader was nicked at every point and the fish tail-wrapped near the end, hanging on by a thread until it was gaffed.
There's more in this one too. A 50kg bluefin that peeled line until the knot burned through and popped, Hai butchering his first tuna and getting the nod from the locals, and a run of barbecues on the island.
Firsthand, straight from Hai. As it happened, no exaggeration.
Watch the full youtube clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoW1z4yFl20 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IoW1z4yFl20)
📍 Hai Nguyen: https://www.instagram.com/hai_life/ (https://www.instagram.com/hai_life/)
📍 Aclassic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_aclassic_/ (https://www.instagram.com/_aclassic_/)
📍 Host: Dan Muntz: https://www.instagram.com/danmuntz/ (https://www.instagram.com/danmuntz/)
Want to join our next episode? Jump into our broadcast channel on Instagram to get new guest announcements and send in your questions!
Have an epic ocean story or know someone who does? Hit us up via DM or our Instagram broadcast channel.
💬 Drop a review and subscribe for more epic stories!
Cheers!
🎙 Guest: Hai Nguyen
🎙 Host: Dan Muntz
#tuna #yellowfin #landbased #Japan #fishing #saltwater #bluefin #rawsaltwaterstories #podcast #fishingpodcast #rockfishing
11 Sept 2026
Part 2! Pushing Spin Gear to Its Limits on Giant Bluefin, with Alex Simon
A 106 inch tuna he reckons was over 300 kilos, landed on a leader less than half the strength it should've been. And that's just one of the stories.
This is Part 2 with Alex Simon, and it's all stories. If you haven't heard Part 1, go back for how he got into this. This one is the wild stuff.
Alex walks us through the fish that put him on the map. A 106 inch giant that came up and ate a floating bunker ten feet from the boat, hooked by his mate DJ on 60 pound leader when it should've been 130. Four and a half hours of fighting, a harpoon, a broken rod, and another hour and a half getting dragged around before the three of them got it in the boat. It had about 60 pounds of bait in its stomach.
Then the January night fish. Mid winter, so cold they spent an hour breaking ice off the boat just to leave the ramp, then ran 70 to 80 miles offshore into the dark with nothing to show for it. On the way back in, in pitch black, a 96 inch fish ate a popper and took two hours to land. The other half of the crew were out there in a centre console with no top and no radio, just a handheld.
He tells the big eye redemption too. A few years after the big eye that beat him and made him cry, he found a pack of them 90 miles out and hooked seven in a session, breaking off five as they tore swivels and split rings apart.
And the one he calls a dream come true. Amagari, the Spanish lure maker whose gear he'd thrown for years, flew in and fished with them. First feed of the day, Alex casts Amagari's prototype stick bait, works it three times, and a 100 inch fish eats it.
No clickbait, no bullshit. Just the real story.
📍 Alex Simon: https://www.instagram.com/salt_silverbak/ (https://www.instagram.com/salt_silverbak/)📍 Sammy Tilliard: https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/ (https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/) (https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/)📍 Aclassic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_aclassic_/ (https://www.instagram.com/_aclassic_/)📍 Host: Dan Muntz: https://www.instagram.com/danmuntz/ (https://www.instagram.com/danmuntz/)
Want to join our next episode? Jump into our broadcast channel on Instagram to get new guest announcements and send in your questions!
Have an epic ocean story or know someone who does?
Hit us up via DM or our Instagram broadcast channel.💬 Drop a review and subscribe for more epic stories!
Cheers!
🎙 Guest: Alex Simon & Sammy Tilliard
🎙 Host: Dan Muntz
#bluefin #tuna #topwater #spingear #Haiti #fishing #OBX #bigfish #rawsaltwaterstories #podcast #fishingpodcast #aussie
7 Sept 2026
Pushing Spin Gear to Its Limits on Giant Bluefin, with Alex Simon
He started out catching marlin on a hand line in Haiti with the bare minimum. These days he chases giant bluefin on spin gear off the US east coast.
We're back with a big one, and it went deep enough that we split it in two. Today Alex Simon joins us from Maryland, a Shimano Pro Staffer who's spent years chasing topwater bluefin on spin gear. I also pulled in my mate Sammy from Tassie, who's chasing the same thing down south, so he could ask the questions I'd never think of.
Part 1 is Alex's story from the ground up. Born and raised in Haiti, catching marlin on hand lines, his granddad running the biggest seafood co-op on the island. Moving to the States at 13, three high schools in four years, then a maths degree and eighteen years as an engineer for the US Army. And somewhere in there the fishing turned into a proper obsession.
He tells us about the fish that broke him. October 2021, a big eye tuna in the 200 pound class hooked on light gear, two and a half hours of standoff, and a loss that had him lying on his back crying for ten minutes. That night he bought his first 20K Stella and decided he'd never lose one like that again. That's the fish that started all of it.
From there we get into the detail. The gear that actually lands 300 kilo fish, why he reckons the Japanese are light years ahead on tackle, the 90 degree rod method that takes the pressure off your back so you can hold a big fish without your body giving out, and why you can't get in tuna shape at a gym, you only get there by fighting big fish until everything hurts. Alex also gives his unfiltered take on Haiti right now, straight from someone who grew up there.
No clickbait, no bullshit. Just the real story.
Part 2 is where the wild ones come out, so keep an eye out for that.
📍 Alex Simon: https://www.instagram.com/salt_silverbak/ (https://www.instagram.com/salt_silverbak/)
📍 Sammy Tilliard: https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/ (https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/)
(https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/)📍 Aclassic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_aclassic_/ (https://www.instagram.com/_aclassic_/)
📍 Host: Dan Muntz: https://www.instagram.com/danmuntz/ (https://www.instagram.com/danmuntz/)
Want to join our next episode? Jump into our broadcast channel on Instagram to get new guest announcements and send in your questions!
Have an epic ocean story or know someone who does? Hit us up via DM or our Instagram broadcast channel.
💬 Drop a review and subscribe for more epic stories!
Cheers!
🎙 Guest: Alex Simon & Sammy Tilliard 🎙 Host: Dan Muntz
#bluefin #tuna #topwater #spingear #Haiti #fishing #OBX #bigfish #rawsaltwaterstories #podcast #fishingpodcast #aussie
Who has been a guest on Aclassic - Salt in the veins - Wind in the hair
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Theophile Gonet
Harry Hollmer-Cross
Billy Hayes
James Kuhl
Jason Breen
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206,346,292
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Spotify
5.0 / 5
21 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 73 / 100
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Quality
63
Social presence
91
YouTube
93
Engagement
71
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