In a school filled with high achievers, Luca Caniato stood out.
Before graduating in June, he played violin in the orchestra; served 3 years as president of the Italian Club; founded the Photography Club and Aquatic Habitat Alliance; was elected to 4 Honor Societies; played varsity soccer, and was one of 2 seniors chosen by his classmates to turn the tassel at graduation.
Luca Caniato and Alex Hackett get ready for the finale, at Staples’ June graduation. (Photo/Ryan Allen)
It sounds like Luca had no time for anything else.
But the teenager — who heads soon to the University of Colorado, where he’ll be one of just 50 new students in the elite Leeds Scholars Program — has one more passion. It challenges him, calms him, and feeds his soul.
And — because he is on the go, even when relaxing — it’s been both a summer job, and a way to give back to others.
Luca Caniato (Photo/Melissa Alves)
Luca is an avid, and very accomplished, fisherman.
It started in 8th grade, when Bedford Middle School language arts teacher Steve Rexford taught Luca’s friends Josh Ginsburg and Preston Siroka how to tie flies and cast rods.
Intrigued by the “cool, unique” sport, Luca joined them. He got a fly rod and waders.
When Rexford met him at a Pennsylvania river — both families were vacationing nearby — Luca caught a 4-inch bass.
“I was hooked,” he says (pun fully intended).
Fishing is “so different from anything else. How you choose the right fly, tie it, cast a rod, engage the fish, land it — the whole approach is magical.”
Luca has fished with some very big fish: 3-time world champion fly fisherman and former French national captain Bertran Jacquemin, and Yannick Rivière, another world champion.
His mentor is Antoine Bissieux, 2025 Orvis Guide of the Year.
Luca fishes in Connecticut’s Farmington River — and far beyond, in Wyoming and Idaho.
Two summers ago — using money saved from painting and mowing lawns — he spent 2 weeks in Montana with former soccer teammate Ryan Thomas, who worked in a fly fishing shop. It was a great experience, including fishing off a boat at 3 a.m.
“Trout don’t live in ugly places,” Luca notes.
Luca Caniato, in the Italian Alps. (Photo/Luigi Mautino)
Other scenic spots are more local: the Saugatuck River at Ford Road, Compo Beach and Long Island Sound.
This winter, Fairfield students Matt Menozzi, Ryan Leavay and John McCloskey — who ran a fishing camp there — reached out to Luca. They wanted to start a Westport branch. Would he be interested?
Do fish swim?!
The Faifield camp supplied all the rods and equipment, and taught youngsters to fish in a safe, fun environment.
Luca marketed the camp through flyers, videos and social media.
It was fully booked. Through last week, 60 kids ages 7-14 (10 or so each week) fished with Luca and his counselors — his friends Josh and Preston, who first got him into fishing — at Burying Hill Beach, Old Mill, and their favorite spot, Compo.
Josh Ginsburg, and a happy camper.
They met weekday mornings, from 9 to noon. Some were already experienced; they’d take a rod, and run off. Others had to learn how to cast, lure a porgy and more.
“They may not be as big as a striper or bluefish,” Luca notes. “But when they catch even a porgy or sea robin, kids go crazy.”
He and the counselors make sure to celebrate every achievement, no matter how small.
One day, with the tide particularly low, few fish were biting.
Suddenly — at 11:40, as they all got ready to pack up — the boys started hooking fish.
Luca texted the parents to pick them up there, so they could keep angling to the end. “That was so much fun,” he says. “It was awesome!”
Casting on the Compo jetty.
(Yes, all the campers this year were male. Luca hopes girls will join next year, but notes, “guys are generally more interested in fishing.”)
Already a patient fisherman, Luca says that running the camp has helped him realize the time it takes to learn a new skills.
He adds, “Everyone learns differently. But fishing is hands-on. We have to do a lot of demonstrations.”
He’ll be back at the beach next year, introducing another group of boys (and girls?) to one of his many passions.
Just as he got hooked on the sport 4 years ago, Luca Caniato will reel the next generation of fishermen in.
(To learn more, email lucagcaniato@icloud.com, or click here. You can follow Luca’s fishing and photography adventures on Instagram: @lgcflicks.)
(“06880” regularly highlights the achievements of Westport’s great young people. If you enjoy stories like these, please click here to support our work. Thank you!)
(All photos/Luca Caniato unless otherwise noted)