Rene de Dios is gone but is never forgotten for those of us that fished with him and loved him. For me it's an honor to share his story and the pictures and the many fascinating details that that was the life of the most extraordinary land based shark fisherman ever.It's difficult for me to put into words the drive and passion with which Rene fished.He was the driving force behind the shark fishing scene on that old south beach concrete pier.Everyone who met him and watched him in action was impressed with his charisma, and infected with his fervor to fish for sharks.People would come out to the pier just to watch Rene hook and fight sharks.Rene's brand of enthusiasm to catch sharks was contagious to the young man that saw him in action.The guys on the pier respected and admired him and came to him for advice with the shark fishing. I remember the first time i saw him doing battle with a shark i was mesmorized and went out and bought my first reel a Penn 60 to start shark fishing "just like Rene." To me my Penn 60 seemed puny next to that monstous 14/0 rene used but after that i knew i was on my way to becoming a red blooded shark fisherman "just like Rene" Keep in mind the pier was free and so all the guys used to go there to hang out,skateboard,surf,spearfish,but once they saw the maniac fighting a shark they too wanted to become shark fisherman.All the fisherman on the pier would watch and hear Rene "the BIG KAHUNA" as he called himself talk about the monster he's gonna catch tonight and people knew that he would do just that.Next day Rene's picture was in the Miami Herald with some big shark he'd caught just like he said he would.Rene would hound anyone with a fresh caught jack crevalle or blue runner so he could freeline it on his shark rod.Many times they would give in to the shark fisherman with fire in his eyes just to get him off there back.He was never rude just extremely driven. It got to the point when on any given summer night there would be 15 shark rods lined up on the end of the pier and Rene was the center of attention orchestrating his followers or playing a prank on one of the rookie sharkers.It's Hard to describe the vibe that was there but anyone who lived though it remembers it well.Rene had an uncanny feel for the seasons and what days of the month were gonna produce what type and size sharks. You may ask yourself why so many pictures of one guy with so many sharks but the fact was that Rene was in a league of his own,,in other words he caught so many more sharks then anyone else because he was that much more determined, that much more driven.When everyone else got tired and left at 1 or 2 am Rene would not leave til after sun up or even til high noon. At that time no one could compete with the fierceness with which he practiced his sport.Rene was a superb athlete who became a lifeguard for the city of Miami Beach municipal pool for two summers.I can't remember how many times Rene jumped off the pier to save a drowning swimmer,,at other times Rene would have to go out on a longboard to save one of our buddies whose aluminum row boat was sinking from taking a few waves over the bow while taking out shark baits.Rene was like Tarzan on the south beach pier no one could outfish him and no one was a more ballsy or as superb an athlete as Rene.Some people are born with a gift,a special talent and they only come around I believe once every century,,,just like no one has matched Michael Jordan no one has matched Rene de Dios.
Rene in one of his many newspaper articles.
This is absolutely beautiful work Will, im realy apreciative and in a way very pumped up to see these old legendary pictures , and sit back from afar, and notice that your 1 of the last original old timers trying to keep this thing alive!!!!!
thanks Will, and i know ive slacked up with the baby just being born and all, but i hope you also remember my work and efforts to get our club back up and going and gathering all the boys back together,spreading the word and etc 2 years back.
im getting back into my comfort zone and by next years annual renewal i will be back with a vengeance.
SFSC -East Coast Events Coordinator
Yep, I could recall Rene and the antics (good ones at that) with his 8 foot surfboard and his 13 foot aluminium boat; between the 8 foot and the 13 foot you never knew what would happen.
I personally on occasions had to jump in the ocean to attempt a rescue of Rene and the person whom he was rescueing. I saw Rene help the lifeguards on numerous occasions with open ocean rescues of helpless bathers that inadvertently were swept out with the outgoing tide in combination with a rip-current.
I remember one time Rene went surfing (he would occasionally surf) and the waves were pretty big, so on days that the surf was big the only remedy you had was to jump off the end of the pier and then scratch like hell for about 30 more yards to be in the safe zone.
Well as you may know, Rene jumps off the end of the pier and seconds after he sets up to start his paddle a wave comes and the next thing I see is Rene giong over the falls backwards.
That image will always be etched in my mind for ions....
God Bless you Rene and long live The King..
ap
#1 gino
is that you albert paledry?
SFSC -East Coast Events Coordinator
I want to thank all of you who posted this article of Rene, the last time I saw him he was working on a Ferry that takes people to Fisher Island.
Being a young buck back in those days watching Rene fish for Sharks was amazing. The original Pier had good memories. Rene who I thought his last name was Diaz, Ham, Bob the Scuba Diver, Larry, Miko, Jose Piñero, the Cabrera brothers, all those people we knew. You guys were all like family. I remember a concert we once had and people came from far but the family represented their pier. The Game Room just across the street, we had Lums, Chicken Unlimited, Gino's Pizza, and las but not least who can forget Piccalo's Restaurant being a low income kid, you had to get by with whatever you could. Knocking on the back door of the kitchen to Piccalos was a ritual. The bread rolls, and sticks were to die for, I don't think there's a restaurant out there that has been able to duplicate that taste...... The Park next to Piccalos, the hangout. Or you could just ride you skateboard to the Projects up the street as you passed the Dog Track or the Biscayne Collins Hotel. What was it called South Shore Park, or later changed to South Point. If you went to South Beach Elementary you know you stood for a Shark maybe that's what got Rene started, whatever it was you joined many people together may you rest in peace Rene, but rest a sure you legend travel on to all our friends and kids. I miss those days, but thanks guys for keeping the spirit alive. Joegarcia33012@yahoo.com look me up on Facebook and at me if you lived on the beach in those days.
I want to thank all of you who posted this article of Rene, the last time I saw him he was working on a Ferry that takes people to Fisher Island.
Being a young buck back in those days watching Rene fish for Sharks was amazing. The original Pier had good memories. Rene who I thought his last name was Diaz, Ham, Bob the Scuba Diver, Larry, Miko, Jose Piñero, the Cabrera brothers, all those people we knew. You guys were all like family. I remember a concert we once had and people came from far but the family represented their pier. The Game Room just across the street, we had Lums, Chicken Unlimited, Gino's Pizza, and las but not least who can forget Piccalo's Restaurant being a low income kid, you had to get by with whatever you could. Knocking on the back door of the kitchen to Piccalos was a ritual. The bread rolls, and sticks were to die for, I don't think there's a restaurant out there that has been able to duplicate that taste...... The Park next to Piccalos, the hangout. Or you could just ride you skateboard to the Projects up the street as you passed the Dog Track or the Biscayne Collins Hotel. What was it called South Shore Park, or later changed to South Point. If you went to South Beach Elementary you know you stood for a Shark maybe that's what got Rene started, whatever it was you joined many people together may you rest in peace Rene, but rest a sure you legend travel on to all our friends and kids. I miss those days, but thanks guys for keeping the spirit alive. Joegarcia33012@yahoo.com look me up on Facebook and at me if you lived on the beach in those days.
BUMPING this for Joe Garcia since he didn't register or login the post needed approval and a bump.