Summer Camp in Maine: Kids Gut Fish, Shoot Rifles and Bows

The good news: There’s an awesome summer camp for kids in Maine where they shoot firearms, learn about trapping animals, and gut fish. The bad news: Your kids will have to wait until next year to enjoy it.

It’s called The Maine Youth Fish & Game Association summer camp, and the website happily states it “is not your average summer camp.”

From a recent article:

At the Maine Youth Fish & Game Association summer camp, kids learn about wilderness survival, hunting, fishing and more.

It’s a hands-on and hard-core week-long experience.

“I like doing all of this stuff and I’d rather do this than play video games,” said 13-year-old Brady Grange.

Brady isn’t alone. None of the kids seemed to have a problem with setting down the gaming controller or cell phone in exchange for the outdoors.

“It’s really awesome. Fishing is awesome and I love doing all the outdoor stuff and how there are no electronics,” says 13-year-old Avery Redding.

“I like to sit at home and watch movies a lot but it’s good to get outside and get away from it,” said 14-year-old Jayda Roy.

They catch fish after learning size and bag limits, then they must gut them. They also shoot rifles and work on archery skills.

Courses in fly fish tying, trapping, and bug studies are also offered when special teachers are available to visit the camp.

It’s not expensive because it’s a non-profit, and there are options available for folks with limited income.

Camp organizers don’t want financial limitations to prevent any child from attending the camp.

“We will work with anyone who is interested to find a financial solution,” said Redding. A scholarship is one option.

Mark your calendar for next March, when registration opens again. Only snail mail can be used to apply, in fairness to those without internet access. And don’t delay because it fills up quickly!

Their website notes that they had a winter camp in February of this year, but doesn’t indicate whether they are planning one for 2020. You can always visit the winter camp page and use the contact info to inquire, or check out their Facebook page.

What a great program. Of course, it would be best if these programs weren’t necessary because all our kids were learning this stuff at home, but ya can’t have everything.

Good on ya, Maine Youth Fish & Game Association. Keep up the good work.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.