904-860-8361Sign inRegister
Four overnight campers in life jackets on a charter boatTwo campers holding red snapper on the offshore dayTwo campers with a barracuda on the boatCampers playing tug of war on the field at Jacksonville UniversityCamper holding a kingfish on the offshore dayCharter boat with campers on the St. Johns River, Jacksonville skyline behindCamper on the bow holding a bull redfishCampers playing gaga ball on campus in the eveningCampers on the dock with the day's kingfishCampers in the dorm hallway at Jacksonville University
← All camps

Overnight Camp

Sunday to Friday in the dorms at Jacksonville University, on the St. Johns River. A charter every day — 4-, 6- and 8-hour trips, including a full 8-hour offshore day — and a fish fry with the family on Friday.

Ages 9–15Sun 1 PM – Fri 4 PMJacksonville University · dorms & dining hallAll meals included4 campers per boatShirt included
$2,499per week · $400 deposit holds the spot
See 2027 weeksWhat a day looks like ↓

A day at overnight camp

Wake up on the river. Boats at 7:45.

This is the offshore day — an 8-hour trip, the longest of the week. The 4- and 6-hour days have the same shape, just back at the dock earlier: lunch at 2, down time, dinner, and an evening the campers pick.

6:30AM
Oak Hall
6:30 wake-up10:00 lights out
Wake-up6:30

Wake-up

Counselors wake the floor. Sunscreen on, water bottles filled, boat bag packed before anyone leaves the building.

Meds handed out by Joe or Katie at breakfast.

Co-director Katie Carraway eating breakfast in the Jacksonville University dining hall7:00

Breakfast

Hot breakfast in JU's Riverview Dining Hall. On the offshore day, seasickness meds go down here if they've ever needed them, and the captains' plan for the day gets passed around the table. Counselors and directors eat with the campers — we have to eat too.

Unit 1 · Seamanship & safe boating

Overnight campers and their captain aboard a charter boat at the Jacksonville University dock7:45

On the boats

The charter boats pick up right at the Jacksonville University dock on the St. Johns — no vans, no drive. On the offshore day it's straight out the inlet.

Unit 4 · Navigation & tides

8–3

Fish · 8 hours offshore

The offshore day is a full 8-hour trip, usually a mix of bottom fishing and trolling: kingfish, cobia and barracuda on the troll, snapper and grouper on the bottom. When the weather allows we'll run up to 30 miles out. Lunch is on the boat.

Everyone gets rod time. The counselor keeps the log and the camera going.

2:00

Lunch · the shorter days

On the 4- and 6-hour days the boats are back early and lunch is at 2 in the dining hall — cold drinks, big plates and plenty of shenanigans after a hot morning on the water. On the offshore day, lunch is on the boat.

The loudest table in the building.

3:45

Back at the dock · cleaning table

Boats back to the JU dock. Catch on the table for species ID, slot checks and filleting — and what they ate: this cobia was full of crabs. The week's keepers go on ice for Friday. On the 4- and 6-hour days we're back well before this and lunch is at 2 in the dining hall.

Unit 3 · Fish biology & conservation

Down time4:30

Down time

Naps, basketball, spikeball, a call home. Phones are allowed here. The campers who fished 8 hours are usually horizontal; the ones who had a 4-hour day are on the court.

This is the hour the parents get their phone call.

Co-director Katie Carraway with overnight campers in the Jacksonville University dining hall6:00

Dinner

Dinner all together. We switch it up with the mood of the week — a pizza night, grilling the fish they caught, fresh fish dip — and the JU dining hall is always there for any camper who needs it. Counselors post the day's photos and the 7 PM recap goes out to parents.

The recap: where they fished, what they caught, who they sat with.

Overnight camper holding a fly he tied in the dorm lounge7:00

Camper's choice

The evening is theirs to pick. Dock fishing on the St. Johns until dark, cast-net practice, gaga ball and spikeball on the field, fly tying, or games inside. Campers split up by what they want to do, with counselors assigned to each group.

The fly-tying table is out all week — campers love it and can tie any time.

Lights out10:00

Lights out

Showers, a little dorm time, phones away, lights out at 10. Boats leave at 7:45 whether or not everyone slept, and tired campers fish better.

Counselors sleep on the floor with the campers.

The week

A charter every day. One of them is 8 hours.

A full week on campus means we don't have to choose. Four-, 6- and 8-hour trips across the week: the creeks, the river, the jetties, the beach — and one full 8-hour day offshore.

Arrival · 1–2 PM

Sunday

Arrival · 1–2 PM

Walk your camper into Oak Hall, meet the counselors, help them unpack. Orientation and the campus tour at 2:00, dinner in the dining hall, first night on the dock.

Oak HallOrientationDock fishing
4-hour · backwater creeks

Monday

4-hour · backwater creeks

The gentlest ride of the week to learn the routine. Redfish on the flood, trout on the edges, flounder on the drop-offs. Back for lunch at 2.

RedfishTroutFlounder
6-hour · river & jetties

Tuesday

6-hour · river & jetties

The St. Johns and the Mayport jetties. Sheepshead on the rocks, bull reds along the channels, and the first lesson in reading current.

Bull redfishSheepshead
8-hour · offshore

Wednesday

8-hour · offshore

The long day. Out the inlet on the charter boats — up to 30 miles when the weather allows — for a mix of bottom fishing and trolling: kingfish, cobia, barracuda, snapper. Lunch on the boat. Seasickness meds at breakfast if they've ever needed them.

KingfishCobiaSnapper
6-hour · beach & nearshore

Thursday

6-hour · beach & nearshore

Along the beach for spanish mackerel, sharks and kings when it's flat. Back on campus every night.

SpanishSharksKingfish
Awards & Family Fish Fry

Friday

Awards & Family Fish Fry

A last morning on the water, then pick-up at Oak Hall at 4:00. Awards and the fish fry at 5:00 — friends and family welcome, campers eat free.

Pick-up 4 PMFish fry 5 PMFamilies welcome

Order changes with wind, tide and the forecast — the captains pick the offshore day around the calmest window, and the 4- and 6-hour days fill in around it. We try to get every camper on every kind of water; some weeks the weather has other plans.

Who's with them

Licensed captains on the water. Counselors in the dorm. Joe and Katie on the camp floor all week.

1:4

Counselor to campers

Our standard boat: a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain and a CPR-certified counselor. The same counselors sleep on the dorm floor with the campers.

24/7

Directors on campus

Joe and Katie stay on the camp floor all week, available to campers and parents any time, day or night: Joe 904-860-8361 · Katie 904-868-3041.

Level 2

Background checks

Every staff member is Level 2 background-checked and registry-cleared, as Jacksonville University requires for anyone around campers (FL Statute 409.175).

7th

Season, same captains

Most of our captains have run camp boats for years. Meet them →

What happens to the fish

We keep enough for Friday's fish fry. The rest go back.

Slot and bag limits, handling a fish for release, why the breeders go back in — taught on the cleaning table every afternoon.

Friday at 5:00 the week's keepers hit the fryer at Oak Hall, families invited. The campers help mix the beer batter. Campers eat free; there's a donation jar.

The details

What's included, what to pack, how Sunday and Friday work.

Included

  • Dorm room at Jacksonville University, Sunday to Friday
  • Every meal, plus water on the boats. We mix it up (pizza night, grilling the catch, fresh fish dip), and any camper can always eat at the campus dining hall, dietary needs included
  • A charter every day — 4-, 6- and 8-hour trips, including the full 8-hour offshore day · pick-up at the JU dock
  • The 55-foot head boat · evening dock fishing and cast-netting on the JU dock
  • Fly tying — an optional favorite, set up all week for any camper who wants it
  • Everything fishing: rods, reels, tackle, bait, ice. A favorite rod and reel or tackle box is welcome too
  • Long-sleeve SPF camp shirt · laundry mid-week
  • Friday awards & Family Fish Fry
  • Daily photos and a 7 PM recap in your parent account

Packing list

  • Bedding: pillow, blanket, twin sheet
  • Bath: bath towel, beach towel, shampoo, soap, toothbrush, deodorant
  • Clothes for the week: shorts, tees, long-sleeve sun shirts, swimsuit, pajamas, underwear, socks
  • Shoes: closed-toe for the boat (Crocs are fine) + shower shoes
  • Water bottle, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray, rain coat
  • Meds in the original bottle, labeled with name and dose
  • Optional: sea-sickness meds, extra snacks, snack-bar money, a favorite rod and reel or tackle box (all gear is provided)

Leave at home: energy drinks, anything you'd be upset to lose.

Sunday & Friday

  • Sunday 1:00–2:00 PM · Oak Hall, Jacksonville University, 2800 University Blvd N
  • Use the main entrance at the Merrill Rd & University Blvd roundabout, down the hill, left at the golf course, around the left-hand bend, and Oak Hall is on the left. Follow the NFFC signs.
  • Walk them in, meet the counselors, unpack. Orientation starts at 2:00 — parents head out then.
  • Friday 4:00 PM pick-up at Oak Hall · Awards & Fish Fry 5:00, family welcome

Phones: campers keep them, but they only come out during down time after fishing.

2027 weeks

Two weeks. Twenty spots each.

$400 deposit holds a spot; the balance is due 30 days before camp. Full refund up to 30 days out — inside that, a refund if your spot fills, otherwise a credit good for any available camp in the next 12 months.

Week 1

June 13–18, 2027

Sun–Fri · Jacksonville UniversitySpots openAdd to cart · $400 deposit
Week 2

June 20–25, 2027

Sun–Fri · Jacksonville UniversitySpots openAdd to cart · $400 deposit

See every camp on the full calendar →

Your side of the week

You'll hear from us every night. So will they, if they want to.

  • 7 PM recap. One note a night from the counselor: where they fished, how long the trip was, what they caught, who they ate dinner with.
  • Photos, every afternoon. Landed by dinner. Save all of your camper's with one tap.
  • Call or text any time. Joe 904-860-8361 · Katie 904-868-3041. Campers have their phones during down time after fishing — that's when they'll call you.
  • Weather calls, straight to you. If boats are holding at the dock, the red bar is on your app before 7 AM.
  • Friday. Come early for the awards. Bring a chair for the fish fry.
Luke's week · Overnight Wk 1Wednesday · 7:00 PM recap
Where we fishedOffshore with Capt. Cook, 22 miles out on the 8-hour day. Trolled on the way, bottom fished the rest. Flat calm, everyone kept breakfast down.
What Luke caughtA 27" kingfish on the troll and his first red snapper on the bottom. Measured, photographed, snapper on ice for Friday.
TonightDinner at 6, then he picked dock fishing. He's rooming with Cole and they're fine. Lights out 10.

Overnight camp questions

The ones parents ask.

What if it's my kid's first time away from home?

It is for a lot of them. Counselors sleep on the dorm floor, Joe and Katie are on campus all week, and the days are full enough that homesick usually lasts one night. You can call or text either of us any time.

Where do they sleep and eat?

Dorm rooms at Jacksonville University, two to a room on a counselor's floor. Every meal is included. We switch it up with the mood of the week (pizza night, grilling the fish they caught, fresh fish dip), and any camper can always eat at the campus dining hall instead, for dietary needs or anything else. We do laundry mid-week.

Can my camper room with a friend?

Yes — put the friend's name on the registration ("who are they coming to camp with") and we'll room and boat them together.

Can girls come?

Absolutely! Girls get their own room and bathroom, or share with another girl close in age.

Phones?

They can bring one. It stays in the dorm and comes out during down time after fishing. Abuse it and we hold it and call you.

Seasickness on the offshore day?

Send Dramamine or Bonine if they've ever needed it; we hand it out at breakfast on the offshore day. It's a full 8 hours, so it matters. Every other day is calm water.

How far offshore do they go?

Up to about 30 miles when the weather allows — a mix of bottom fishing and trolling for kingfish, cobia, barracuda and snapper.

What do they do after fishing?

Lunch at 2 on the shorter days, then down time — naps, basketball, spikeball, a call home. After dinner the evening is camper's choice: dock fishing, cast-netting, field games or games inside, each group with its own counselor.

Medication?

Original bottle, labeled with name and dose, handed to Joe or Katie on Sunday. If it's something they take on a school day, keep taking it at camp.

What's the cancellation policy?

Full refund up to 30 days before camp. Inside 30 days, a refund if your spot fills; otherwise your payment becomes a credit for any available camp in the next 12 months, transferable to a sibling.

Not sure which camp?

Three ways to spend your week.

Day camp

Summer Day Camp

Ages 7–15 · Mon–Fri 7:30–3:00 · $1,099

Inshore, and offshore on the calm days. Home every night. The place to start.

Explore day camp →

You're here

Overnight Camp

Ages 9–15 · Sun–Fri · $2,499

Dorms at Jacksonville University, the 55-foot head boat, a dedicated offshore day.

Big water

Advanced Camp

Ages 9–16 · Mon–Thu · $1,599

Two 6-hour and two 8-hour charters. Campers keep their fish.

Explore advanced →

Summer 2027

Two weeks. Twenty spots each.

Registration is open. Every week has filled the last few summers — grab yours early.

See the weeks
Contact JoeSee weeks