There are those in shark fishing that say competition is bad but I say they are sadly mistaken .Young man develop into men with testosterone and that in and of itself gives us a push to conquer .Conquer a female ,conquer a mountain,conquer an ocean ,,,,it is part of mankind that cannot ignored, It is in our nature.We all have a competetive streak in us and whoever denies that is denying human nature.Competition can be good because it pushes us to excel and become better, no matter what the endeavour may be .It is by our competive nature that man pushes himself to evolve and attain new inventions that make life bettor for mankind.Good competitors learn to bridle there competive spirit to push themselves to new heights.
RENE AND THE COMPETITIVE SPIRIT
Many of the old timers on this site have roots from south beach pier/boardwalk (Miami Beach 60's to 90's)many started when we were still too young to legally drive and we watched Rene de Dios "the Big Kahuna" as he called himself at work catching more sharks then anyone else.Rene thrived on competition, he was extremely driven and we saw him as the best of the best because not only did he say he was #1 ,but he did new things before anyone else,he pushed through fears when no one else dared ,he lead the way and taught us to believe in ourselves .
Rene broke the records ,broke down barriers and that was by pushing himself and wanting to be the number one shark fisherman on that old pier.He wanted to be recognized and that took push and hard work.He dedicated himself to shark fishing and became the very best .We saw first hand what it took to be #1 so we had a map to follow to become successful in our sport also - created by an inpassioned ,obsessed shark fishing freak .After you watched Rene de Dios shark fishing you were either a mesmerized follower willing to watch and feed on his energy or an you became an ardent competitor wanting to dethrone him and that only worked to drive Rene that much harder to retain his #1 ranking. Rene de Dios was an infection,,,,,,,,once you saw him hook and fight a shark you were caught, mesmerized ,you wanted to be a part of that and you became competitive ,you also wanted to prove that you could do it just like Rene was doing it; day after day,month after month ,year after year.Many talented fisherman developed on the south beach pier,today many are big name boat captains and many have in one way or another stayed deeply involved in fishing.Human nature made us competitive,,,,our "South Beach Expierience" and Rene were flame & the fire that pushed us to excel.
BELIEVING IN YOURSELF,STAYING COMPETITIVE ,STAYING FOCUSED
REMEMBER THIS "In shark fishing being competitive will push you to catch what was previously thought to be impossible .Wanting to catch the biggest and doing what no one before has done might become an obsession but that is what makes the best ;that one minded focus on your goal,that push to excel and become the very best.If that doen'nt have competition in it i don't know what does ,It's a compitition to better yourself and to better what others have done before.When you push yourself to become better you are competing be it for status,for recognition,for self fulfillment it is what mankind does,our search for immortality, maybe a wish to leave our mark ,,,,,,if you don't have it YOU WILL NOT GET FAR.When we think of getting bettor we are driven to create our a creative mind thinks of new ways of doing things we then concentrate on our endevour with complete focus .This is what makes GREATNESS
Don't be fooled by the wimps that say otherwise ,greatness can only be achieved by complete dedication and competition with yourself is the key to going forward and breaking the mold,breaking records and becoming the best in anything you attempt to do.
Shark fisherman are no different we become better by our focus ,our dedication,our competitive spirit and by paying attention to the details such as weather,seasons,tackle,bait prep and presentation,techniques ,by learning to adapt to the suttle changes in the enviroment and lastly but very importantly by being consistent in your fishing.Be competitive ,push yourselves and catch more fish.
SOUTH FLORIDA SHARK CLUB -President SFSC-Founding Member est 1983 SFSC-Website Administrator BIG HAMMER SHARK TOURNAMENT -Founder Rene Memorial Sharkathon -Founder NMFS Shark Tagger
Well said will. I ask Rene why he had to prove him self every day. You are the best and you don't have too. He told me theres no letting up. You have to go for it every day.
Very nice post..it is quite impressive the impact your friend had and the paragraphs above help to preserve his spirit and inspire others to pick up where he left off. The quote made on the SFSC History page is one that stuck with me particularly.."Rene would fish harder swim the furthest, row the bait further than anyone else and catch the biggest shark because he sacrificed everything in the pursuit of sharks."