Fish and Fishing in Florida

This guide from the State Library of Florida explores fishing chronicles, seafood recipes and more in Florida, from the 1800s to the present.

Materials are generally available through interlibrary loan or from our circulating collection.

Links within the bibliographies take you to information in our State Library catalog or to more information on external sites.

Books and articles

Aflalo, Frederick G. Sunshine and Sport in Florida and the West Indies. G. W. Jacobs & Co., 1907.
DeVries, Janet. Sport Fishing in Palm Beach County. Arcadia Publishing, 2008.

Epstein, Bob T. A History of Fishing in the Florida Keys: Angler’s Paradise. The History Press, 2013.
Gregg, William H. Where, When, and How to Catch Fish on the East Coast of Florida. The Matthews-Northrup Works, 1902.
Holder, Charles Frederick. Along the Florida Reef. D. Appleton & Co., 1892.
Howard, Terry L. High Seas Wranglers: the Lives of Atlantic Fishing Captains. University Press of Florida, 2013.
Kelly, Doug. Florida’s Fishing Legends and Pioneers. University Press of Florida, 2011.
Lanman, Charles. Adventures in the Wilds of the United States and British American Provinces. J. W. Moore, 1856.
McClellan, Jim. Life Along the Apalachicola River. The History Press, 2014.
Oliphant, Ashley. Hemingway and Bimini: the Birth of Sport Fishing at the End of the World. Pineapple Press, 2017.
Presley, Ron. Fishing Secrets From Florida’s East Coast. University Press of Florida, 2012.
Raupp, Jason T. “Fish on: Pensacola’s Red Snapper Fishery.” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 85, no. 3, 2007, pp. 324–41.
Voss, Gilbert L. Pioneer Son at Sea: Fishing Tales of Old Florida. Edited by Robert S. Voss, University Press of Florida, 2016.
Ward, Rowland. The English Angler in Florida. R. Ward, 1898.
Youngs, Larry R. “The Sporting Set Winters in Florida: Fertile Ground for the Leisure Revolution, 1870-1930.” Florida Historical Quarterly, vol. 84, no. 1, 2005, pp. 57–78.

Florida Department of Game and Fish. Annual Report. 1913-1924.
Florida Department of Game and Fresh Water Fish. Biennial Report. 1925-1932.
Florida Division of Fisheries. Backyard Fish Bait. Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission, 1961.
Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. Annual Report. 1971-1998.
Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. Biennial Report. 1936-1968.
Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. Fish and Fishing in Leon and Gadsden Counties, Florida. 1955.
Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission. Fishing Florida’s Fresh Waters...Where, When, How, Why. 1951.
Florida State Board of Conservation. Florida Fish Recipes. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1966.

Florida State Board of Conservation. Florida, the Fisherman’s Paradise. 1940s.
Florida State Board of Conservation. Florida Salt Water Fishing for Sport, for Food, for Health. 1950s.
Florida State Board of Conservation. Florida’s Favorite Seafoods. Peninsula Publishing Company, 1960.
Holder, Charles Frederick. Sport Fishing in California and Florida From Bulletin of the Bureau of Fisheries, Volume XXVIII, 1908. Proceedings of the Fourth International Fishery Congress, Washington, 1908. Government Printing Office, 1910.
Kaplan, Moise N. Big Game Fishermen’s Paradise. Florida Department of Agriculture, 1936.
Thursby, Isabelle S. Canning, Salting, Smoking, Cooking Florida Fish. Agricultural Extension Service, 1951.
Waterman, Charles F. Let’s Go Fishing in Florida. Florida Development Commission et al., 1967.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Florida Saltwater Fishes.
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Freshwater Fish.
State Archives of Florida. “Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission Collection.” Florida Memory. Florida Division of Library and Information Services.
State Library of Florida. “Fishing License Poster From Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission.” Florida Memory. Florida Division of Library and Information Services.
University of South Florida Libraries. Greek Community Documentation Project : The Greek Community of Tarpon Springs.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. USFWS National Digital Library.