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If you drive through certain stretches of Alaska during the summer, you might spot people standing in and alongside the river, long poles in hand. At the end of the poles are large, round nets designed to help fishers catch their allotment of fish to be cleaned, stored and eaten as nutritious protein.
This process is called dipnetting, and it’s only available to Alaska residents. Captain Brandon Kyle learned about the technique during his time as Kenai Corps Officer—the Kenai Peninsula is one of Alaska’s most popular sport fishing locations.
When Kyle was appointed as Alaska Divisional Youth and Candidates’ Secretary with his wife, Captain Monica Kyle, they evaluated unique opportunities for summer camp offerings. Dipnetting came to mind.
“Why wouldn’t we take advantage of this unique knowledge?” Brandon Kyle said. “We asked God what we have experienced so far that we can use.”
Enter: Teen vs. Wild: Boys Fishing Camp. The inaugural offering took place July 14-18 and had 11 teens between the ages of 13-16 participate.
The week was designed to help young men grow in faith, leadership and outdoor skills through dipnetting, hiking and other fun activities—a localized take on The Salvation Army’s traditional wilderness camps.
Kyle said many of the campers, who came from throughout the state, hadn’t fished before. Several had backgrounds that included foster care or were growing up with their lives in flux.
“They’re kids that benefit from the experience and the fish,” he said, noting campers took the fish home to their families at the end of the session.
“You could see at the beginning they were hesitating… by the end they just were beaming and so proud—the transformation from not confident and being very confident in themselves.”
Captain Brandon Kyle
Dipnetting is a process. Once a fish or multiple fish swim into the five-foot wide net, a tug of war ensues, requiring fishers to stay in control of the 12-foot long pole to bring the fish in. Kyle said everyone caught at least three fish themselves during the week.
“They really had a blast,” he said. “You could see at the beginning they were hesitating… by the end they just were beaming and so proud—the transformation from not confident and being very confident in themselves.”
In addition to dipnetting, campers got to participate in rod and reel shore fishing and learn how to safely clean and pack fish.
For Gene, 13, the youngest camper in the group, processing fish was something he’d wanted to learn more about.
“I learned how to [subdue] a fish and how to vacuum seal it and properly take care of it and prep it,” he said.
Outside of the fishing-related activities, campers participated in tent camping at the Kenai Corps, arcade and group games at Extreme Fun Center, an ice cream outing and a showing of “How to Train Your Dragon.”
“I think it was life-changing for the boys,” said Mat-Su Valley Corps Leader in Charge Troy Cook, one of the leaders for the week. “They’ve gotten to experience things as a group of teen boys that they probably wouldn’t experience outside of camp.”
Cook said while many of the kids have participated in The Salvation Army’s camping ministries before, they unanimously said they’d want to participate in this kind of programming again.
One day, the group participated in a hike that required going three hours up a mountain and two hours back down.
“One kid thought he couldn’t make it after 10 percent of the hike,” Kyle said.
A counselor helped him make it through. When he got back to the bus, everyone cheered.
“You could see he was proud of himself for making it,” he said.
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