The Shark Hunter

My friend Mark on LI still loves to fish, something we did a lot of as kids. I haven't been fishing since I left the employ of my boss Ed, a true world class fisherman. That was 15 years ago.

But, sitting around yesterday, I started remembering the coolest fisherman I ever met: Rene Dedios. Rene was a local South Beach celebrity in the 702. I met him when my family took vacations to Miami Beach in the 70s.

Rene was a few years older than I was, and I met him hanging out at a game arcade on Ocean and First Street. In those days, the arcade had "Pong," and air hockey table, and pinball machines. I was watching Rene play air hockey, and he said "kid --go get me change," as he handed me a dollar. I was 15, and did what I was told. I returned with his 4 quarters, and he handed me one as a tip. It was my first exposure to a sort of poor man's Rat PAck behavior, and I was impressed.

It turned out that Rene was a trainer at the nearby dog racing track, and lived in the tenements next to Joe's Stone Crab, but his true love was shark fishing. He told me to come by the pier one night.

Again, I did as I was told, and saw him and 4 of his Cuban buddies plop a huge hunk of meat onto an enormous hook, and row the bait out close to a mile from the First Street Pier. I hung around for a few hours, listening to their Spanglish and watching the other kids skateboard and listen to music, when I had to go back to my family's Sea Crest Hotel room. I said goodnight to Rene and he told me to come back in the morning.

I did, and there was a crowd surrounding a dead 15 foot Mako shark on the pier. Renen smiled at me, and told me the bite came about 3 am, and it took 2 hours to land the beast.

Over the following years, I'd see Rene when my family came to visit over Christmas and Easter breaks. He grew into a local celebrity.

I lost touch with him after I moved here, although about 10 years ago I saw his picture in the Herald --he was still hunting sharks! I smiled to myself.

Last night I did a web search and turned up some South Florida Fishing sites. Rene was profiled prominently as a legendary shark fisherman. He died of Diabetes in 2003. He must have been no more than 50.

On the web sites, there were photos of him on the First Street pier in the late 70s. The photos of long haired boys and skateboarders brought back more happy memories.

The pier is gone now, replaced by an overpriced beach restaurant and bar. The dog track is a really cool City park --South Pointe --where folks watch the cruise ships sail away.

Rene died 6 years ago, and I didn't know of his passing, but he lives on in my adolescent memory as the first adventurer I ever met.