The other day i was talking to my cousin Pete whom i introduced to Rene back in the 1990's to try and remember some of the dates of Rene's last big sharks and was filled with sadness realizing how much i miss my old buddy,mentor and childhood idol.It seems the older i get the more i realize how short our time on this Earth is,,it's been 5 years since Rene passed away and it seems like it was yesterday.I wish he was here so i could tell him without any shame how much he meant to me, and how much he influenced me as a young man .What he taught us about shark fishing will always be part of who we are. The part that hurts is the realization that we take for granted the people we love and when they are gone we feel a certain emptiness and the only thing that we remember is that we did not do enough to show our love while they were alive.I hope we can learn to swallow our pride and love those around us till it hurts then some.Rene can never be replaced so we will keep his legacy alive on this site and in our hearts.
ONE OF A KIND
Rene was a great story teller ,had the memory of an elephant and his stories were all real ,they were freakish and sometimes scary .He had so many Big Hammer stories that I can't remember them all ,but I remember being in awe as I heard him describe many times over the phone "I just got stripped by a 15 foot hammer on long key bridge" you could feel his passion and desire and frustration at once again having gotten destroyed by his dream shark.Sometimes me and Rene were not on talking terms because he was very competitive, and I was also, so we had run-ins over stupid sh#t ,but inside I always rooted for him and I knew that anything was possible with Rene because he truly was the master of the sharks and pursued them harder then anyone I've ever known.His stories were often heroic- doing things from pure heart and youthful strength.He was a great athlete and in his prime Rene knocked out guys twice his size.He wanted to be as he called it "#1 "and the "Big Kahuna" and he was the Top Dog on South beach pier so that meant putting his life on the line so many times to save people that were drowning off the pier.or someone that was sinking while taking out a shark bait .Man I sure miss my friend Rene ,,,,,,,,,,one of kind!!
Rene de Dios and his daughter Erica
I miss him very much as well sometimes, I sometimes have dreams that we are still fishing together. He always had such a positive attitude while fishing he always told stories and kept everybody's attitude alive and ready to fight whatever shark could hit the line at any given moment. God bless the Rene may he rest in peace.
Will