Monsters Of Molasses

Looking forward to it .Some of Rene's best boat caught sharks were made at Molasses Reef.

asere its been a week!!!!! i wanna see the gigante labron james shark!!!!!

Back in the late 90's when crossing to the Bahamas was not possible due to lack of time, funds or bad weather my father Rene and I would head to a spot Rene had fished for years know as "Molasses Reef". Molasses Reef is located just outside of Key Largo, and Rene had made some amazing catches there over the years, like his world record Caribbean Reef shark, several big Hammerheads, and even his heaviest shark ever on scale, a behemoth tiger weighing 698lbs, He would tell me stories of some monsters he hooked in Molasses in years prior and one of the stories he told stuck in my head. He described to me of a time he was anchored out on the reef in the middle of the day shark fishing with a dive boat anchored not to far away from his boat when a massive hammerhead picked up his ballooned bait on the surface that he had on his 14/0, it took his bait and burned his reel in the direction of the dive boat. Rene said he could see divers hauling a$$ out of the water screaming "shark shark" lol I could only imagine how funny that must have been to witness , He wasn't very amused cause he lost that shark but a classic tale none the less.

Rene's 698lb tiger view topic viewtopic.php?f=46&t=358

Let me tell a story of a particular night while fishing molasses reef with Rene my father and I. It started as our usual routine we dropped my father's 23 foot walk around in black point marina and drove the boat all the way to key largo. On the way down south we would stop at a cuda hole we had just outside Elliot Key and catch all the cuda's we wanted.They were usually big in the 20-30lb range after reaching our desired amount of bait we we would then continue our long drive south to our destination "Molasses Reef" we would got to our spot and throw the anchor, on this particular night it was December and the wind was blowing hard, One of the annoying things I observed of Molasses Reef was that when anchored there the current was always strong and the wind would almost always blow in a different direction than the current creating the boat to rock from side to side causing very uncomfortable conditions for those on board. On this night after throwing the anchor the rocking was so bad that it caused not only me but my father to get sea sick (something that rarely happened to either of us) and while my father and I are looking at each others white pale faces and feeling funny (sick) Rene is dropping a whole 25lb bloody cuda while humming a Christmas Carole "I am dreaming of a black hammer" on this cool windy December night with no moon out and stars blazing.

Not even 30mins later Rene's 14/0 starts screaming he runs to his rod from across the boat and jerks it to set the hook and Boom he is on, the reel is getting burned steady but not fast like a hammer but still burning, he positions himself in fight mode leans his rod against the gunnel of the boat and tightens up his drag and his old hanell broomstick rod is starting to bend and the shark is still taking drag at the same speed, He then screams "Throw the anchor buoy he is big" I run to the front of the boat while its rocking like a cradle on speed with the devil rocking it, and throw the rope with the buoy and the chase is on the shark starts going to deeper water and rougher water my dad and I start taking turns driving the boat while the other is vomiting over the side Rene starts screaming "point the light on the tip of the rod", " I am trying" I yell back while trying hard to keep my balance " Look he is heading to deeper water all the big ones do it" approximately an hour later of chasing screaming and vomiting the wire can be seen and I grab it with my gloves on and pull with all my might a big 11 foot looking tiger or bull silhouette appears near the surface and turns his head right towards the outdrive of the boat and wraps itself with the 19 wire two hard kicks with his massive tale splashing us from the surface and the back of the boat sinks approximately 2 inches and pops the wire "wow what a beast Rene screams Damn IT" but their is still plenty of cudas in the cooler so we head back to the the anchor buoy and tie up again.

Round 2 Rene waists no time when we anchor again and starts throwing another whole cuda in with double hooks, I am too sick to throw anything but vomit so I sit back and watch, Not even 15mins later his reel gets slammed again same thing as before its burning the reel we throw the anchor buoy and chase it, this one headed right for the pertruding reef rocks of Molasses reef close call he pulls him in another direction this fish was fighting hard and after about 45mins to an hour later it surfaces and I am shocked its a bull shark not small but a bull a species that mostly anybody lands usually rather quickly but this is no fat pregnant slow pig this is rare, its a male long lean and muscular looking this one measured at 8'9 and definitely eats his Wheaties and does cardio cause it fought like a soldier !

Rene caught 3 massive lemon sharks in Molasses Reef he caught a 9'7 a huge 10'1 and another possibly bigger than the 9'7 and 10'1 aboard his 16ft dusky while fishing with anglers Shannon Bustamante and Jonathan Polsino it was so big that they had to cut in 3 pieces to bring it to shore and scared the hell out of all of them as it rolled itself green into the small boat while fly gaffed. The picture below is either the 9'7 or 10'1 not sure which and one of them I not sure which the 9'7 or 10'1 weighed an astonishing 397lbs impressive for a lemon it's tale still touching the ground while hanging on the scale according to Rene

This lemon is either the 9'7 or 10'1 not sure which.

This is Rene's scallop hammerhead no monster but one our sharks while fishing molasses in the late 90s.

Rene or I caught this sand bar shark, I can't remember. No monster but caught while fishing molasses.

Rene taught me a lot of things in life while teaching me how to fish, I feel like God Blessed me with 2 fathers during the adult lesson age when we all need extra guidance, when we think we know it all and don't know $h!T, I who was known for dropping my rod and reel on the concrete bridge floor after I got my a$$ handed to me by a big shark and losing it. Out of frustration I didn't even throw another bait in the water nor did I even touch the rod after I dropped it on the floor cause I was so upset from the loss. Rene observed me doing that on a few occasions and once told me "Will I hope your not like that with everything else in life and just quit when you don't get it your way " I'll never forget his words and I was a quitter back then. I now work in a hard demanding career that many can't handle and quit, many die at a young age from the intense stress that it causes and I thank Rene for teaching me not to quit, and thank him and my father for holding me back from getting out of the car in a road rage incident one day on the way back from the Keys when I wanted to get out the car and disfigure someone, Rene later told me "Will you can't lose your temper like that you will get in trouble thrown in jail and lose everything" til this day when I get road rage I think of Rene's words to me thanks buddy I miss you see you one day in heaven and we will fish in paradise beach together again It will happen I promise the bible says so.

The death of a loved one (friend or family) is such an emotional experience that words cannot express. Its an event that one must experience (Unfortunately) to understand, but if I were to attempt to describe it as I have experienced it in words, the feeling would be like being in freezing place starving and all that is offered to you is a cold meal that should be heated up but isn't,the meal (life) is unsatisfying but you must consume it for the sake of everyone else that is still around that you love to survive, it the meal (Life) is a cold bitter reminder of the (emptiness) and unsatisfying feeling that you must adapt to every time you eat a meal to (live) from the point of the loss one on. there is no going back and telling him or her hey I appreciate what you did for me that time, or how much you cared for them, Life is hard and even harder when you lose loved ones so treasure the one's you love now while they are still here cause you never know what tomorrow brings they might be gone, and your chance to express yourself is gone.

Sweet storys and awesome pic bro

Very cool Will. Always enjoy reading your posts. Keep them coming bro!

Back in the late 90's when crossing to the Bahamas was not possible due to lack of time, funds or bad weather my father Rene and I would head to a spot Rene had fished for years know as "Molasses Reef". Molasses Reef is located just outside of Key Largo, and Rene had made some amazing catches there over the years, like his world record Caribbean Reef shark, several big Hammerheads, and even his heaviest shark ever on scale, a behemoth tiger weighing 698lbs, He would tell me stories of some monsters he hooked in Molasses in years prior and one of the stories he told stuck in my head. He described to me of a time he was anchored out on the reef in the middle of the day shark fishing with a dive boat anchored not to far away from his boat when a massive hammerhead picked up his ballooned bait on the surface that he had on his 14/0, it took his bait and burned his reel in the direction of the dive boat. Rene said he could see divers hauling a$$ out of the water screaming "shark shark" lol I could only imagine how funny that must have been to witness , He wasn't very amused cause he lost that shark but a classic tale none the less.

Rene's 698lb tiger view topic viewtopic.php?f=46&t=358

Let me tell a story of a particular night while fishing molasses reef with Rene my father and I. It started as our usual routine we dropped my father's 23 foot walk around in black point marina and drove the boat all the way to key largo. On the way down south we would stop at a cuda hole we had just outside Elliot Key and catch all the cuda's we wanted.They were usually big in the 20-30lb range after reaching our desired amount of bait we we would then continue our long drive south to our destination "Molasses Reef" we would got to our spot and throw the anchor, on this particular night it was December and the wind was blowing hard, One of the annoying things I observed of Molasses Reef was that when anchored there the current was always strong and the wind would almost always blow in a different direction than the current creating the boat to rock from side to side causing very uncomfortable conditions for those on board. On this night after throwing the anchor the rocking was so bad that it caused not only me but my father to get sea sick (something that rarely happened to either of us) and while my father and I are looking at each others white pale faces and feeling funny (sick) Rene is dropping a whole 25lb bloody cuda while humming a Christmas Carole "I am dreaming of a black hammer" on this cool windy December night with no moon out and stars blazing.

Not even 30mins later Rene's 14/0 starts screaming he runs to his rod from across the boat and jerks it to set the hook and Boom he is on, the reel is getting burned steady but not fast like a hammer but still burning, he positions himself in fight mode leans his rod against the gunnel of the boat and tightens up his drag and his old hanell broomstick rod is starting to bend and the shark is still taking drag at the same speed, He then screams "Throw the anchor buoy he is big" I run to the front of the boat while its rocking like a cradle on speed with the devil rocking it, and throw the rope with the buoy and the chase is on the shark starts going to deeper water and rougher water my dad and I start taking turns driving the boat while the other is vomiting over the side Rene starts screaming "point the light on the tip of the rod", " I am trying" I yell back while trying hard to keep my balance " Look he is heading to deeper water all the big ones do it" approximately an hour later of chasing screaming and vomiting the wire can be seen and I grab it with my gloves on and pull with all my might a big 11 foot looking tiger or bull silhouette appears near the surface and turns his head right towards the outdrive of the boat and wraps itself with the 19 wire two hard kicks with his massive tale splashing us from the surface and the back of the boat sinks approximately 2 inches and pops the wire "wow what a beast Rene screams Damn IT" but their is still plenty of cudas in the cooler so we head back to the the anchor buoy and tie up again.

Round 2 Rene waists no time when we anchor again and starts throwing another whole cuda in with double hooks, I am too sick to throw anything but vomit so I sit back and watch, Not even 15mins later his reel gets slammed again same thing as before its burning the reel we throw the anchor buoy and chase it, this one headed right for the pertruding reef rocks of Molasses reef close call he pulls him in another direction this fish was fighting hard and after about 45mins to an hour later it surfaces and I am shocked its a bull shark not small but a bull a species that mostly anybody lands usually rather quickly but this is no fat pregnant slow pig this is rare, its a male long lean and muscular looking this one measured at 8'9 and definitely eats his Wheaties and does cardio cause it fought like a soldier !

Wow. The above story is awesome. The rest of the post is both touching and inspiring. Perseverance and self control are two crucial lessons to be learned in life. Glad you had two father figures in your life to help you win both those battles. Great, Great Stuff here. Thanks for sharing.