COA Camps

This week Christian Outdoor Alliance announced its third annual lineup of Hunting and Fishing Adventure Camps for the summer of 2004. COA camps give participants hands-on, in-the-field instruction on hunting and fishing, and the opportunity to harvest and process fish and game. Plus, they teach respect for nature, and practical lessons in maturity, leadership, responsibility, and integrity.

This summer COA will host a total of 10 sessions for boys and girls aged 11-16. The organization’s camp lineup this year includes five sessions of its traditional “Hunting and Fishing” camp format, plus five sessions of “specialty” camps.

The camp curriculum includes serious hunting and/or fishing, plus advanced skills, game preparation, conservation, sporting ethics and more. Each camper receives daily hands-on, in-the-field instruction from a range of experts.

COA’s traditional camp format allows campers to harvest exotic does, wild hogs and other game, plus fish for trophy bass and catfish. Specialty camps will include saltwater and freshwater fishing, bowhunting, trophy exotic buck hunting, and a trip to the Rocky Mountains in Idaho, in which campers will harvest buffalo on a private ranch and fish for trophy trout in the wilds of Yellowstone National Park.

“The kids have a blast. Last summer, in one evening, the 10 boys who were fishing that afternoon caught a total of 30 bass over five pounds, including one nine pounder,” said camp director Michael Marbach. “We really get after it. We had an eleven year old girl harvest a buffalo with a .50 caliber muzzloader, and almost all the other kids got to harvest exotic does and hogs.”

2004 session dates for the traditional format Hunting and Fishing camps are:
• June 4-13 for boys
• June 18-27 for girls
• July 3-10 for boys
• July 16-25 for boys
• July 31 – August 7 for boys

The specialty camp lineup is as follows:
• Saltwater Dream Camp – June 6-12 (co-sponsored by Saltwater Texas magazine)
• Freshwater Dream Camp – June 20-26
• Bowhunting Dream Camp – June 27-July 3
• Trophy Exotic Dream Camp – July 11-17
• Rocky Mountain Dream Camp – July 31-Aug 8

All inclusive costs for the camps range from $995 to $1,395. The trophy exotic hunting camp will also include a kill fee. When mentioning the camp costs, the group is always quick to point out that need-based scholarships are readily available. “Our goal is to take every camper who wants to come,” said Marbach. “We work hard to raise scholarship funds. So far, we have never had to turn any kid away for financial reasons.”

COA holds participation to no more than 20 campers per session. The group encourages people to sign up as early as possible to hold a spot for their camper. For more information, call Michael Marbach at 210-827-9802, or log in to www.COACamps.org.