Tarpon will swarm the Ten Thousand Islands. Scott Barham's hit a plug near Coon Key.

Many of this area’s veteran anglers consider June the best month of the year to fish the Ten Thousand Islands. The backcountry menu includes snook, tarpon, redfish, trout and sharks, plus a few surprise entrées. Offshore, the choices are many—grouper and snapper for the bottom fisherman, cobia, permit and barracuda for the wreck fisherman, and for the sportsman who likes to hunt his fish, there are tarpon and permit. And the sharks are everywhere.

Snook have moved both out of the backcountry and in from the offshore structures and are gathering in the passes to spawn around the new and full moons. Tarpon join these snook in the passes to feed, as do sharks. This creates quite an exciting fishery. Well-known passes such as Gordon and Caxambas are legendary at this time of year, and although there is intense fishing pressure in these areas, they just keep on producing. I prefer the more obscure passes and cuts south of Marco Island. These passes hold fewer fish, but less boat traffic and the raw beauty of the general area makes the extra travel time worthwhile.

Dawn and dusk are certainly the best fishing times. Night fishing can be wonderful, but the bugs suck some of the pleasure out of the evening catches, along with your blood. Both high and low tides are good, but the current must be moving. Some tarpon will hit on the slack tide, but the snook seem to sleep during this time.

Early June is an excellent time for fly fishing. The winter fronts and accompanying westerly winds are long gone, so the water is very clear. Snook will move into shallow water and tarpon tend to lay up along the shore in the bays. This is a perfect combination for those of you who like to pole the shallows sighting your quarry before you cast. Often these same fish are blasting through schools of small shiners which makes it that much easier to find them, stalk them and, of course, feed them.

Best results for sight fishing are usually in the bays just inside the passes where the water washes baitfish against the bank. Outside beaches can also be very good. Keewaydin Island just south of Gordon Pass is a great beach to fish as is the long beach north of Cape Romano.

When working these beaches keep one eye offshore. Large schools of baitfish gather just offshore in June, and this seafood buffet is a favorite dinner of roaming tarpon. These are not baby tarpon. These are the big boys with fish often weighing well over 100 pounds. When you see the fish rolling in the schools of bait, approach quietly. Even a trolling motor might spook the fish. Drift among the tarpon while casting large streamers or big plugs, or better yet, pitch out a lively blue runner, pinfish or thread herring. Some anglers fish livies under floats, while others freeline them. One-hundred-pound leader and super-sharp hooks attached to 20- or 30-pound-test line makes for ideal terminal tackle. Then just hang on, bow to the king when he jumps and enjoy the second-best 30 minutes of your life.

Offshore, large red grouper move closer to shore mostly in waters 40 to 50 feet deep, and on out to 60 feet or more. Mangrove and lane snapper will mix in with the reds. All can be caught over hard-bottom areas. Schools of barracuda will cover the wrecks, and these insane, snaggle-toothed beasts provide a fun, if not slightly dangerous, fishery. Toss a tube lure out on 15-pound-test line, smoke it through the monsters and prepare yourself. These fish are unpredictable. They jump, run, somersault, or may just fight it out deep. The jumping part is the dangerous part. Other fish seem to jump away from rod pressure. Cuda play by different rules. They just jump, and if a boat or angler happens to be in the way they just crash into it or them and start chomping. Several anglers have been seriously injured by barracuda, and anyone who has spent time wreck fishing has at least ducked a few times. I had one go right through my T-top. Another hit me in the face, and a third shot under a companion’s arms and over the other side of the boat. All great fun. Providing you live through it.