Choosing a fishing camp for your kid means matching the camp's session style, the kind of fishing it teaches, and its dates to your child and your summer, then vetting the program before you sign up. A lot of parents do not even realize summer fishing camps exist, where a kid can fish with a professional guide every day and learn inshore or offshore fishing. In this How 2 Tuesday I sit down with Parker Rabo, who has run Florida Fantasy Fishing Camp for seven years, and we walk through the exact steps to find the right camp and vet it so your kid has the summer of their life on the water.
Watch and listen now: press play in the player above and follow along.
Start by looking at the session style the camp offers, like week-long day camps or overnight camps, then figure out what kind of fishing your child wants to do, inshore or offshore. Match the camp’s dates to the rest of your summer so it fits around sports and other commitments, and then vet the program through longevity, references, and photos before you sign up. A good camp supplies the gear and pairs your kid with a professional guide every day, so all they really need is sunglasses, a hat, and a good attitude.
There are day camps that run Monday through Friday and overnight camps that run roughly a week, and the fishing itself splits into inshore and offshore programs. An inshore program is shallow-water fishing for snook, redfish, trout, tarpon, and sharks. An offshore program is grouper digging, trolling for kingfish, and dropping baits for big goliath grouper, which is a completely different style. Parker offers both at Florida Fantasy Fishing Camp, so a kid can pick the world they are most excited about.
Longevity is one of the best signals, so look for a camp that has been running for years. Ask for references, a good program should be able to give you a handful of parents who will take a phone call, and often a parent who lives right down the street from you. Look at photos, since a serious camp posts albums of the fish their campers catch going back years. Reaching out to the guides directly is also smart so you know exactly who your kid will be on the water with.
At a well-run camp like Parker’s, the camper does not need any gear at all. The camp provides the tackle and the boats and pairs each kid with a professional guide. All your child needs to bring is a good pair of sunglasses, a hat, and a great attitude. That low barrier is part of what makes a fishing camp such a good option for families who do not fish themselves or do not have the equipment.
It is one of the best ways to get a kid into the sport, especially if the parents do not fish or live somewhere landlocked. A camper from a bass-fishing background transitions naturally into inshore saltwater fishing, and a kid who has never caught a saltwater fish gets to catch species they have only dreamed about. The guides at a good camp are teachers first and fishermen second, which makes it a welcoming place for a complete beginner.
Yes, and a good camp is built to do exactly that. Parker offers as many week-long sessions as possible across the whole summer so a fishing camp can slot in between basketball camp, baseball camp, and family trips. It is not meant to compete with everything else your kid does in the summer, it is meant to complement it as a fun week or two on the water. Lining up the dates with your child’s schedule is the final step in choosing the right camp.
I get a flood of emails about getting kids into fishing, and most parents have no idea a summer fishing camp is even an option. Parker Rabo has run Florida Fantasy Fishing Camp for seven years, pairing kids with professional guides every single day, so I wanted him to lay out exactly how a parent finds and vets a program like his. He answers the questions I get asked most, and he does it from the inside. I get into all of it with him in the episode, so press play in the player above.
Here are the steps Parker and I walk through for finding a fishing camp, with the stories behind each one in the episode.
I go deeper on each of these with Parker in the episode, so press play in the player above and watch along.
In the age of glitzy websites, how do you actually know what you are getting? Parker makes the case that longevity is one of the best signals, and that a real program will hand you a list of parents who will take your call, sometimes a family right down the street from you. He posts every fish his campers catch going back to 2012, so you can see exactly what the experience looks like. I dig into how to separate a real camp from a good-looking website in the episode, so press play in the player above.
The kind of fishing matters as much as the camp itself. A kid from a landlocked, bass-fishing background often slides right into inshore saltwater fishing for snook, redfish, and trout, while a kid raised on grouper digging and tuna wants the offshore program. Parker explains how those two worlds differ and how to read which one will light your child up. I get him to break down both programs in the episode, so press play in the player above.
A lot of people picture a fishing guide as a salty, crusty old-timer, and Parker pushes back on that hard. His guides are family guys with twenty years on the water who are teachers first and fishermen second, and plenty of parents reach out to them directly before camp. That vetting step is one of the most reassuring parts of choosing a camp. I let Parker describe his team and why it matters in the episode, so press play in the player above.
A fishing camp is one of the best alternatives I know of to a summer spent inside on a screen. It gets your kid outside, doing exactly what they want to do, learning from real professionals.
If your child is into fishing, take the steps Parker laid out: look at the session style, match the kind of fishing, line up the dates, and vet the program. Do that and you are armed, ready to go, locked and loaded. Press play in the player above.
How 2 Tuesday is my weekly series where I break down one fishing skill at a time, from knots and casting to gear, tactics, and the habits that make you a better angler. Watch and listen to every How 2 Tuesday episode from Tom Rowland.
Parker Rabo · Florida Fantasy Fishing Camp · Tampa Bay · inshore fishing · offshore fishing · snook · redfish · trout · tarpon · sharks · grouper · kingfish · goliath grouper · bass fishing · How 2 Tuesday · Saltwater Experience
I'm Tom Rowland, a professional fishing guide based in the Florida Keys, host of the Tom Rowland Podcast, and the longtime host of the Saltwater Experience television show. On the podcast's How 2 Tuesday series I break down one practical skill or lesson at a time, from fishing technique and gear to the habits that make you a better angler, in short, focused episodes you can put to use right away.
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