Always at the forefront of anything related to shark fishing in 1987 Rene de Dios the south beach pier phenom was very excited when he found out the University of Miami (Dr Sonny Gruber)was hosting a shark fishing tournament and Rene wasted no time in letting everyone know "he was gonna win the whole thing", and he did.It worked out perfect for Rene who at the time owned a double wide trailer on the water in Taverneir Key where he he kept his boat in frequently fished Mollases reef and the Duane wreck a choice place for monster sharks of all types.Close to Molasses at nearby Pickles reef a 15 1/2 foot great white was caught by commercial longliner Joel Prouty a few years after the the First Annual UM shark research Tournament in 1987.Rene slayed the field with the help of his team of nutty crew ,his knowledge of the local waters and a secondary boat dedicated to catching lhim live cudas all day.They would even swim baits out away from the boat.
South Florida Shark Club members swept in the awards but no one like Rene de Dios with first place Biggest shark and most weight in total aggregate weight.Also representing the SFSC at that time Luis Iglesias,Paul Lopez,Danny Lopez,and from North Miami Beach Capt Ron Scahatmans son Jeff in the Junior division.Notice the sharks stacked up on the deck of Rene's battle ax open boat.
Monster Lemon
Rene with his top prize winning 429 lb hammer .his mom and first mate Ralph at his side.
Rene (center)with Ralph and Marco aka Hoss
Rene ,Seaweed w Shannon(seaweed jr) in his arms,Ralph ,Hoss,Don Urbin and the battle ax boat behind them
Rene and Ralph on the dock behind his Taverneir house with abig Tiger and two bulls
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
He was a true SHARK HUNTER.
Thank you Will for your effort and devotion to our history.
I also want to pay my respects and tributes to Seaweed pictured above side by side with Rene!
Those were the days, I wish I could have fished back then, I never seen those pictures before thanks for the post Will!!