Willcox rebaited the hook, and a few minutes later, a monstrous fish-a lemon shark, about 7 feet long, 200 pounds easy-was putting a dangerous bend in the rod, making Joe scramble yet again. Willcox grabbed the leader and tried to temporarily tailrope the fish for photographs, but the lemon was not about to be subdued and it soon parted from the hook. That was just as well, because the three of us were tired, which is no condition to be in when you're dealing with large, toothy sharks. We stowed our rods and Willcox turned the boat south to head back to the marina.

"Before I finally moved down to the Keys, I'd been coming down here with my family for 19 years," said Willcox as we sped through the cobalt and turquoise waters. "We'd spend all of December here. The worst day of the year was when we had to leave.-¿

It was easy to see why. What fisherman wants to leave paradise?

TIP: Even if you're planning to fish solely with a guide who provides all tackle, you'll probably regret not having a rod and reel at hand. There's just too much good fishing available down here to risk traveling rodless. Go ahead and invest in a pack rod. Look at Cabela's Fish Eagle (cabelas.com) and Albright (albrighttackle.com) travel rods. You'll find a variety of models suitable for the Keys.