Pushing Spin Gear to Its Limits on Giant Bluefin, with Alex Simon

<p>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.</p><p>We&#39;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&#39;s spent years chasing topwater bluefin on spin gear. I also pulled in my mate Sammy from Tassie, who&#39;s chasing the same thing down south, so he could ask the questions I&#39;d never think of.</p><p>Part 1 is Alex&#39;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.</p><p>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&#39;d never lose one like that again. That&#39;s the fish that started all of it.</p><p>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&#39;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.</p><p>No clickbait, no bullshit. Just the real story.</p><p>Part 2 is where the wild ones come out, so keep an eye out for that.</p><p>📍 Alex Simon: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/salt_silverbak/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.instagram.com/salt_silverbak/</a><br>📍 Sammy Tilliard: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer">https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/</a><a href="https://www.instagram.com/thereelblackbeard/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferer"><br></a>📍 Aclassic Instagram: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/_aclassic_/">https://www.instagram.com/_aclassic_/</a><br>📍 Host: Dan Muntz: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/danmuntz/">https://www.instagram.com/danmuntz/</a></p><p>Want to join our next episode? Jump into our broadcast channel on Instagram to get new guest announcements and send in your questions!<br>Have an epic ocean story or know someone who does? Hit us up via DM or our Instagram broadcast channel.<br>💬 Drop a review and subscribe for more epic stories!<br>Cheers!</p><p>🎙 Guest: Alex Simon &amp; Sammy Tilliard 🎙 Host: Dan Muntz</p><p>#bluefin #tuna #topwater #spingear #Haiti #fishing #OBX #bigfish #rawsaltwaterstories #podcast #fishingpodcast #aussie</p>