HEY MON-CHASING RENE AND WILLIAM'S PASSION IN BIMINI

Hey Mon – Chasing Rene and William’s passion in Bimini

This trip to the Bahamas’ started several weeks ago when William invited Joey and I to Bimini/Ocean Cay Bahamas. This was a ridiculously generous offer from William and this started weeks of preparation and research on my behalf. I started Googling everything that I could find on this subject and place. I went back and looked at all the So. FLA shark club reports where William and Rene de Dios had so many exciting sharking adventures. My dreaming had started.

Thursday I left Memphis on my 16 hour 1,000 mile trip and headed to Birmingham, picked up Joey and headed to Miami. Upon arriving at William’s home at 3AM we caught a couple of hours sleep in his motor home. All too soon morning had arrived and we met Ulysses – what a guy. From the very start he showed his hospitality and the great guy and friend he turned out to be. After getting the boat loaded up and filled with gas we headed to the Marina where we started our adventure.

William commandeered his 28ft Fisherman open bowed boat on a course to the sacred sharking grounds of Ocean Cay Bahamas. The ocean was nearly flat and cobalt blue. Luckily the Gulf Stream was cooperating and let us have a nice leisurely 45 mile cruise. When you look at these waters it’s unbelievable that you can look down and see the ocean bottom from 100 feet or more.

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As soon as we arrived we see birds and start trolling on our mission to catch bait and whatever else is biting.
We spent most of the day trolling and bait fishing.
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As dark approached, William punched in the co-ordinates to his top secret sharking heaven. We started getting our sharking rods and gear ready and began deploying bait. By this time we were starving and Master Chef William started dinner. This included steak and pialya. We ate like kings and the badly needed food hit the spot. Thanks William for all of your cooking it was first class and oh so very good. Even Joey who doesn’t like anything, tried some new things and actually liked them.

That night while fishing Ulysses caught a yellow tail snapper. Immediately Ulysses filleted it and William began making his famous “Japanese Peruvian Style Ceviche” what a treat!! If you’ve never had it, you’re not living!

It wasn’t long after our baits were deployed and the magic of the full moon kicked into full gear and sharks heard the dinner bell and the “GREEN MONSTERS” of the Caribbean gave us the action that we made the long trip for.


These reef sharks are crazy strong. A 6’ reef shark makes a 6’ bull seem like a pansy. The first reef shark that we hooked into with my limited knowledge made me believe we had a real monster only to pull up a 6 footer. I’m going to let Joey describe in his own words what his first reef shark was like.

We were really surprised at the strength of the reef sharks and if we had not seen what was on the other end of the line I would have bet that Sonny & I would have had the 10 ft plus shark on the line like we have been searching for all summer. It was a different experience fighting sharks on a boat while trying to keep your balance and walking around to boat under & over lines, rods & boat motors while trying to keep from falling overboard. At one point I was laying down on the edge of the boat reaching for my rod which William had in under the anchor line and I had to ask Sonny to hold my feet because I felt like I was going to fall off the side of the boat when I reached for the rod. It really made for and exciting fight and something Sonny & I will remember for a long time.

Through the course of the night, we caught 6 or 7 sharks they included lemons, nurse and green monster reef shark. When the bite started, it never ended. Finally at 3 o’clock in the morning we were all exhausted and decided not to put out any more baits so we could get a couple of hours sleep before daylight.

As I fell asleep on the floor of the boat and looking up at the full moon and stars I was thinking to myself, this is the good life that I was getting to enjoy with William, Ulysses and Joey. What a crew.

Sat morning we headed to Bimini to clear customs and get a room to get a afternoon nap.

While we were in the room I finally got a chance to get to know Ulysses----1st-- he might the most driven person I have personally met---you don’t get to be a world record body builder without the determination of a champion---very few ever achieve this stature. One of the funny parts of the trip is when Ulysses used his famous two finger judo move to throw me to the floor.—BE CAREFUL , he might “SNAP YOU’’ as he puts it. ----

If you see a yellow VIPER with black stripes in Miami you are looking at the most humble and truly nice guys I have ever met---hell he might even let you drive is 10 cylinder- 550 horse power -6 speed-- beautiful—VIPER, on one Sunday afternoons if you wave. OH don’t be surprised if he gets out in Speedo though.




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ULYSSES BEAUIFUL WIFE

his daugther

The famous weigh in station that William and Rene are seen at putting up world class sharks

Dinner that fights back and made William pay in blood---


Joey and his 6 lb mutton snapper
Sat night a little before dark we head out to the big drop off and start the sharkin. Again William cooks us stakes and great food. Just after we finish eating Joey gets hooked up on a shark on the 9/0. This 6 foot reef shark pulled Joey all the way around the boat giving him the fight of his life—this was a way better fight than the 8’ 3” lemon he caught last year. Captain William gave orders and his crew responded and with going over the big Yamaha motors, under the anchor rope, and over the other rods we were a well tune crew that got the job done. These sharks are just a pretty shade of green and mean as hell.

That was all the action for the night and at 3 am we headed to the room for need sleep. The next morning we eat breakfast and get ready to head back to Miami.

On the way back we stop to do a couple of 400 ft deep drops on William’s penn 12/0 electric reel with wire on it. The bite was on big time. The beloved and much talked about mutten snapper was pulled up with a huge Reef shark following it. William and Ulysses starts yelling that’s a world record REEF Shark—Sonny get your 14/0 and get a leader on it right now. ( William should know—he was with Rene when he caught the current world record)

http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu14 ... 011097.mp4
THREE VIDEOS OF SONNY'S RECORD SIZED CARIBBEAN REEF SHARK

one of the smaller GREEN MONSTERS

I get all in a panic and start trying to get ever thing back out to get ready. Ulysses had been telling me the whole trip he was praying that I would get a shark of a life time and it was there in front of me. I get alive bait on and in no time I am hooked up.

Guys and girls this was the fight of my shark fishing life---for 15 or 20 minutes it was a stale mate. I was heating up and the guys were spraying me down with the water hose and pouring cold water on my head. I heard William say this might take two hours..I was not going to make it if it took that long… My Adeline was at full throttle and said it’s now or never and I locked the 14 star down as hard as I could turn it, and reeled up as I dropped the tip of the rod to the water. I grabbed the 100 class rod and pulled back as hard as I could and bent it over double. I gained a couple of ft of line and reeled down again and pulled for my sharking life. After a couple of minutes I had a world record ‘’GREEN MONSTER REEF SHARK’’ cleeted to the side ofe boat. This shark was 7 foot 9 inches or so---a new personal best for me---these sharks are so powerful that it snapped two 350 lb wires twisted together with one head shake—(that’s why we did not get many pics)
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http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu14 ... 011097.mp4
http://s642.photobucket.com/albums/uu14 ... 011095.mp4

It’s difficult to express the emotions that were going thru my mind—all the effort of William and Ulysses and Joey to get me to this point in time. Its only happens a few times in your life and you have to understand and appreciate it for what it is when it happens. This was an unbelievable ending to an all ready great trip.

William—I want you to and the world to know what a great friend you have been since the 1st time we talked. When I was sick of the way things were going on other sites you opened your arms and let me enter your world. WE seemed to have hit it off from the beginning and when you invited me to Bimini your generosity was off the charts and will never be forgotten.

You are an example of how a young kid coming from Cuba can make just a big impact on everything that you come in contact with. Your positive attitude is infectious and that big smile shows the world your inter big hearted soul—I will never forget the way you invited me into your home and treated this stranger like one of your family. Tell your wife her cooking was just what we needed and was fantastic.

THANK YOU-- THANK YOU-- THANK YOU

SHARKIN ‘’UNOFFICIAL WORLD RECORD GREEN MONSTER HOLDER’’ SONNY

RENE—I HOPE YOU ARE SMILING—YOU TAUGHT WILLIAM WELL AND HE WILL NEVER LET YOUR MEMORY BE FORGOTTEN