The North Florida Fishing Camp will be held this summer for the young anglers in the community to take part and grow their love of fishing even more.
The camp is actually made up of several camps held throughout the area designed to capture the interest and imagination of children out there that love to be outside and are happiest when they are near or on the water.
June and July are the months when the camps will be held, with the first taking place in St. Augustine June 19-23.
The St. Augustine camp is a day camp that will feature a mix of both offshore and inshore fishing.
Arrival will be at Fishbites Trading Post located at 170 Nix Boat Yard Road in St. Augustine at 7:30 a.m. each day, and will include dock fishing and an afternoon guest speaker before pick up time is at 3:30 p.m.
A similar camp format will be held the next week June 26-30, but instead drop off and pickup will be at Morningstar Marinas in the Mayport area of Jacksonville.
Children attending the camp will go on a charter fishing trip from 8 a.m. to noon followed by a guest speaker and dock fishing in the afternoon until pick up at 3:30 p.m.
All of the classes offered will be overseen by some of the best professional charter captains on the First Coast, so the children will be learning from someone who is skilled and knowledgeable within the field.
Morningstar Marinas will also be the home site for additional day camps July 3-7, July 10-14 and July 17-21.
The day camps will be followed by a pair of advanced offshore day camps, the first of which will be July 24-28 and the second scheduled for July 31-August 4.
Both advanced day camps will once again begin and end at Morningstar Marinas, but the main difference is that it is designed for more experienced anglers who are looking to hone their skills with longer offshore fishing trips each day during the week.
The week will include a pair of four and six-hour trips and one eight-hour trip.
All fish caught during the week will be cleaned and taken home. Attending the advanced camps is not recommended for children prone to sea sickness, due to the long hours out at sea.
While arrival time remains 7:30 a.m. for the advanced offshore day camps, pickup time is between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m.
The advanced offshore day camps cost $1,499 and a $300 deposit will lock in a camper’s spot for that week with the additional $1,200 is due one week before the camp gets underway. Regular summer day camps are $999 with $200 reserving a spot.
One of the unique angles the North Florida Fishing Camp offers is what it calls sleep away camps, which will be held twice this year June 4-9 and June 11-16.
As the name implies, the sleep away camps will be held overnight and located at Jacksonville University.
The campers will encounter five consecutive days of professional charter fishing in the Atlantic Ocean and St. Johns River.
A fish fry will be held on the final day of both sleep away camps for families to enjoy, as well as an awards ceremony to highlight the best catches had throughout the week.
The sleep away camps cost $2,250 to register, but a $400 deposit can be made to make sure families reserve a spot for their child.
There is limited space in some of the camps. For additional details and to see available space go to northfloridafishingcamp.com.
