- My name is John Graichen.

I'm the founder of Keeping Kids Fishing.

(bright gentle music) What we do is each Sunday, I usually choose a lake in Coventry because it's a big shoreline.

I set up a table, I put fishing poles out, I put worms out, gear, dobbers, sinkers, anything the kids would need, I advertise it and the kids come and I show them how to fish.

And towards the end of the day, if they are into it, you know, they take their fishing and poles home with them.

(bright gentle music) - A baby one.

(bright gentle music) I caught seven fish, eight, around there.

- I taught myself at four years old, my dad worked a couple of jobs and my mom would bring my brother to softball.

I wasn't really into sports at four, so I would play along the shoreline.

There was a pond nearby, and like I said, I found some string, I put a hook, I found a hook, and then I dug up some worms and I was on my way.

And I realized that there's a lot of kids that, they don't have anyone to show them.

(bright gentle music) - Things are different nowadays, so kids are usually on the phone, so it's nice to have the kids outside doing things and not on their phones, right, Sam?

- One person brought her son, he was a gamer.

He was always in his room playing on his tablets and playing the games on the computer.

And she said she had to drag him out of the house to come to the event, and he had a T-shirt on that said, "I paused my game for this?"

And she brought him back, he had a good day, and he came back the next week with a friend.

And then the following week, he came back with two friends.

And now he's no longer in his room playing on the games, he's out fishing with his new friends.

(bright gentle music) This helps me, because I have severe neuro lyme disease and it causes anxiety and manic depressive disorder, and when you see the child catch their first fish, it just takes it all away.

- Favorite part about fishing is catching fish, 'cause you get to see what kind of fish you caught.

- [Dad] And how many did you catch today?

- One.

- Last year, we had a fundraiser at Camp West Wood in Coventry, and a little girl had won her first fish, the First Fish trophy.

And she came up to me with her mom and she asked me if she could give me a hug.

And I look at the mom and the mom nods, and so I gave her a hug, I said, "Thank you," I said, "Why would you give me a hug?"

And she says, "Well, you see this trophy?"

And I said, "Yes, you won the first fish," and then she goes, "No, you got this for me."

So I asked her, "Well, how did I get that trophy for you?"

She said, "You gave me a fishing pole, "you showed me how to use it, "you showed me how to cast "and how to reel it in and how to put the bait on, "and I caught a first fish.

"You did this, you caught me that first fish."

And I was really, really touched.

(bright gentle music) So this gives me a good feeling knowing that I'm, you know, giving them some education and hopefully some memories to carry on with them.

- There you go, that's all set.

- [Fisher] Thank you, sir.

- Today, Keeping Kids Fishing