Getting Kids on The Water

Chicago Suburbs Fishing Camp provides kids what they need to ditch the screens and enjoy the local outdoors.

Published: Saturday, April 25, 2026 9:00 am
By: Johnny’s Fishing Camp

The importance of adventure close to home and connecting with water is essential to break kids from screens. Video games, streaming videos, and social media drain kids of creativity, adventure and health. Local waters and outdoors provide that needed break from stationary days.

Johnny’s Fishing Camp operates within the Chicago suburbs at park districts such as Arlington Heights, Lisle, Oakbrook, and Orland Hills. Old-world fishing tactics are merged with modern equipment to amp up kid’s catches, and the camp provides enough new fishing friends to really get the kids outside. “I cut down the wait time with what I created — SpeedFishing™ because kids want action,” says camp instructor Johnny Wilkins. “No matter the age, fishing has to be amped-up to match quick TikTok videos to keep the interest high.”

Wilkins has the knowledge to teach kids after his experience fishing for Team USA in three World Championships of fishing in Portugal, Belgium, Italy, and China. Johnny’s Fishing Camp (the Odor of Summer is his theme) puts a lot of fish on lines for even inexperienced camp fishers. Because campers are fishing with his competition gear, there is a very small learning curve, matched with fish flying through the air. Along with the faster-paced fishing, the camp also features traditional sessions for bass fishing, as well as Monster Fish days. Campers from 8 to 16 years old will have success catching and really learn to connect with local waters.

“My methods engage kids, and the fishing is really both exciting and meditative,” Wilkins says. “Float fishing is the top method for increased action and awareness of what is happening underwater.”

Wilkins teaches the top methods for caching when fishing is most tough. His tactics can be used after the camp with cost-effective fishing tackle on vacation as well as at any pond down the street. When he’s not running camp sessions, Wilkins also takes families and individuals out on guided teaching trips.

Johnny’s Fishing Camp is available through ChicagoFishingSchool.com