Since the arrival of Ponce de Leon in the 1500s, the Florida Keys have evolved from a dense, nearly impenetrable jungle full of bears, pumas, snakes, alligators and crocodiles into America's Caribbean islands. And the fish in the region have made the Keys one of the nation's favorite playgrounds for anglers. The Keys are home to more saltwater fishing records than any other angling destination in the world and offer sportsmen an array of amazing fish, from tarpon and Spanish mackerel to mahi-mahi and bonefish. U.S. presidents, celebrities and the world's greatest fishermen and women have cruised the waters of South Florida. Join author Bob T. Epstein on a journey through the storied history of fishing in the Florida Keys.

Two years traveling in east Africa and the Congo fishing, photographing but always making "keeper memories" of a lifetime

Your official guide to the fabulous Florida Keys. From the time of Ponce De Leon and over the 500 hundred years since he stepped on solid ground in the Florida Keys, visitors have come first in expeditions and exploration of a wild, natural group of islands totally dependent on natures blue print of the ebb and flow of tides and hurricanes. In the beginning, it was coconuts and mangroves that caused the ultimate firmament of the Florida Keys. Down through thousands of years, hundreds of varieties of fish, amphibians, mammals and reptiles were the original residents, as well as billions of mosquitos, that for hundreds of years kept people at bay. The evolution of the Keys from Flagler's railroad times, the pineapples plantations, sponging, turtling and commercial fishing has now led to today's, mostly tamed islands. These islands are now strung together for today's tourism boom, by 43 bridges on the Overseas Highway to the Florida Keys.