Ages 7–16 · Day, Overnight and Advanced camps
Backwater creeks, the St. Johns, the jetties, the beach, sharks and bluewater.
A marine education, seamanship & conservation program taught on the water — by a Florida-certified teacher, a naval architect & marine engineer, and Coast Guard licensed captains.
Captain Joe is such a positive influence on the campers.Casey Taylor
A safe and unique experience for young anglers. Worth every penny!Lisa Leifheit
They taught my child how to cast, tie knots, and properly handle fish.Caroline Wolf
One of their favorite weeks of summer!Regan Cartwright
Organized (but laid back), professional, safe, fun, educational and worth the money!Ashley Hayes
Have a ton of fun, and catch lots of fish!Jimmy Orth
They are so caring, helpful, and truly instill a love of fishing.Lynn Slifer
Kind, patient and the best camp he ever went to.Wendy MacDonald
4–5 years in a row and it is always his favorite!Ginamarie Fishman
It exceeded all my expectations.Karly Heal
Our camps
Four ways to fish with us, from a single day in the creeks to a week offshore. Same captains on every boat.
Home every afternoon
Summer Day CampMon – Fri · 7:30–3:00Beach Marine · Ages 7–15$1,099 for the week
See weeksExplore camp →$250 depositSleep-away on the St. Johns
Overnight CampSun – FriJacksonville University · Ages 9–15$2,499 for the week
See weeksExplore camp →$400 depositLong runs offshore
Advanced CampMon – Thu · 6- & 8-hour chartersBeach Marine · Ages 9–16$1,599 · 4 days
See weeksExplore camp →$400 depositDays off school
School’s-Out CampsSingle days · 7:30–3:00Beach Marine · Ages 7–15Next: Oct 12, Oct 24, Nov 11
See datesExplore camp →$250 a dayWhat campers learn
Marine education in every camp, taught on the water by licensed captains and a certified teacher. Tap a day to walk through the week.
Monday
Life jackets, moving on a boat, VHF radio, rules of the road, docking and lines, reading the weather and making the safety call.
By FridayCan run the safety routine on any small boat.
Tuesday
Naval architecture aboard our 55-foot wooden head boat: hull form, buoyancy, stability, propulsion, steering — engine room to rudder.
By FridayCan explain why a boat floats and name its systems.
Wednesday
Species ID, Florida size and bag limits, catch-and-release handling, water quality, and the marsh, river, jetty and reef habitats we fish.
By FridayIdentifies 10+ local species and releases fish the right way.
Thursday
Charts and landmarks, tide tables and current, structure and bait movement — why fish are where they are.
By FridayReads a tide table and picks the spot for the day.
Friday
Knots, rigging, casting, cast-netting live bait, fighting and landing fish, cleaning the catch. Then the Fish Fry and the awards — Biggest Trout, Dock Master, Most Unique and more.
By FridayTies three knots, rigs a rod and lands fish on their own.
Every day: fishing with licensed charter captains — knots, rigging, casting and landing fish.
Shown as a Day Camp week. Overnight and Advanced Camp cover the same skills on their own schedule.
Home base
A 55-foot wooden head boat, built in Maine in 1969 and still working. Its air-conditioned cabin is where campers cool off from the Florida heat, eat lunch and snacks, and learn how a boat really works.
Take the tour
2026–27 season
Summer weeks fill fast and sell out year after year.
Pick a month, tap the camp date you want on the calendar, then add it to your cart.
Summer weeks sell out year after year
Tap a camp date, then Add to cart
Camp in pictures
So here they are. The fish, and everything in between — cast nets, the rigging table, the ride out, the cleaning table. Real campers, real weeks.
Meet the captains
Every boat is run by a working charter captain who fishes these waters year-round. Campers fish with different captains during the week — every one has something to teach.
Camp director · the head boat
Founded the camp in 2020. Teacher by trade, naval architect by degree, captain by license. Runs the 55-foot head boat and the offshore days.
Host, Hook the Future
Host of the kids' fishing show Hook the Future on the Sportsman Channel and a Salt Life team captain. A career spent putting kids on fish.
River City Charters · 24' Morada
Our most-booked captain summer after summer. Inshore out of Jacksonville — redfish, trout, flounder — and the one campers ask for by name.
HunkerDown Fishing · 24' Skeeter
Inshore, nearshore and offshore out of Jacksonville Beach, plus a poling skiff for the flats. Runs a lot of our shark and beach days.
Bell & Anchor Charters · 24' Sea Chaser
Grew up on the St. Johns, then commercial and head-boat fishing before guiding. Light tackle, redfish and tarpon, and famously patient with kids.
Capt. Cook Charters · 22' Tidewater
Started with us as a counselor and still volunteers between charters. Inshore, nearshore and offshore — redfish, cobia, kingfish, snapper.
Wingnut Charters · 19' Hewes
Backcountry and flats specialist — redfish, trout, flounder, black drum on light tackle and fly. The creek days are his.
North Florida Outfitters
Twenty-five years on Northeast Florida water, Fernandina to St. Augustine. Light-tackle inshore and nearshore — redfish and trout.
Set Em Up Charters · 24' Pair Custom
Tournament angler with offshore and commercial time before guiding. Deep V for offshore, a 16' Hewes for the backcountry — anything that swims.
Fish Whisperer Charters
Twenty-four years in the U.S. Navy and twenty-plus fishing Jacksonville. Inshore and offshore, and built for families and first-timers.
North Florida Fishing Charters · Maverick
Thirty years in the skinny water. Sight-casting redfish, trout and flounder in the creeks and spartina from a poling platform.
Sea Dancer Charters · 26' Shamrock
Wreck and bottom fishing out of Mayport — red snapper, kingfish, amberjack. The offshore reef days.
Swipe to meet all 12 captains →
Every captain is U.S. Coast Guard licensed, insured and background-checked, and most have run our boats for years. Have a favorite? You can request a captain when you register. We honor requests when we can, but they're never guaranteed.
Questions
Overnight campers stay in college dorms at Jacksonville University, right on the St. Johns River. Two campers share a room, and counselors live on the same floor. The exact residence hall can change from year to year, but it is always a JU dorm.
Summer day camps and School's-Out one-day camps are ages 7–15. Overnight camp is ages 9–15. Advanced Camp is ages 9–16.
No. Advanced Camp is about how far we go and how long we stay out, not about skill level — we'll teach the fishing. What matters is that your camper is comfortable spending a long day on a boat. Two of the four days are 8-hour offshore runs, and there's no turning back early. If you're not sure how they handle open water, start with a day camp or a School's-Out day and work up to it. Nobody has a bad week that way.
Both, every week. That's the whole idea. A typical overnight week covers the river off the dock, inshore flats for redfish, trout and flounder, a nearshore and beach day off the 55-foot vessel, and a full offshore charter day for mahi, amberjack, kingfish and triggerfish. Day camps mix inshore and offshore across the week too. Conditions decide the order — if the ocean is rough we fish inshore that day and head out later in the week.
Overnight camp includes all meals in the campus dining hall — buffet style with custom stations and dietary accommodations. Day campers bring a packed lunch.
We offer airport pickup from Jacksonville International (JAX). Let us know your flight details after registering and we'll coordinate.
It depends which camp. At day camp and overnight camp we keep enough of the week’s catch for the Friday Fish Fry and release the rest — conservation is part of what we teach, and campers learn to handle a fish properly and put the breeders back. Advanced Camp is the exception: those campers keep their fish, filleted and bagged to take home. Our one-day School’s-Out camps also send keepers home with the camper.
Summer camps: full refund up to one month before the camp start date. Inside that window, refunds are honored if we're able to fill the spot. School's-Out one-day camps: full refund up to 14 days before the date. Weather cancellations are always refunded or transferred.
Yes. Every boat carries the USCG-approved life jackets the Coast Guard requires, and all fishing gear and tackle is provided.