[This article was originally written by Casey Adelle Reyes for the April 25, 2015 issue of THE FORUM, Nyack College's student newspaper. Casey is also a member of the Nyack College Fishing Club.]
Louis “Lou” Kasamis works at Nyack’s cafeteria as a chef. He is a slender man with sleek black hair who seems to peer over the students aware of his surrounding. He is also known as “the Italian looking man who makes delicious macaroni and cheese on Fridays for lunch.” Kasamis is not only lauded for his Friday delights, he is also renowned fly fisherman within the Rockland County community and beyond. Kasamis has won numerous awards for his elaborate details and intricate techniques he uses when fly-tying. Kasamis is mostly a catch and release fisherman, but for salt water fishing, he fishes for keeps. Kasamis catches Fluke, Striped Bass, Handfish, and “anything that comes to the hook.” At the age of twelve, Kasamis ventured on his first fishing endeavor. “I first started off reading about fishing and then I brought an rod and reel. When I caught my first fish, I was hooked.”
Kasamis goes on to say “I enjoy fishing because you are surrounded in nature, which God has created for our own use. God has given us our five senses in order for use to experience a God who is out of our senses through creating things that we see in nature, which in turn brings us closer to God.” What was equally interesting about Kasamis was how he ended up working here at Nyack College as a Chef. “ I went through many different careers before coming to Nyack. I was a stockbroker for about six years of my life and then I decided to follow my passion for cooking and attended culinary school. After working in many restaurants, I finally found a job at a college so that I can have the summer off to go fishing” said Kasamis. When asked if he had any memorable fishing experiences, Kasamis retells the memory of when he saw a young boy in danger. “I went fishing on a lake and I saw these two Orthodox Jewish boys kayaking. The water was about 40 degrees. I hear one of them yelling 'Help me, help!' I see that one of the boy’s kayak capsized and he was in the water. The uncle comes flying in the mini-van and tries to get the one kid to send him back the kayak. He was trying to do everything himself. I called 911 and they found our location through their GPS system, and they sent an ambulance our way. When they arrived they fetched him out of the water and when they got to him, he was blue. A couple of minutes more and he would have been done for. I did not catch any fish that day, but I did a good deed."
Kasamis is aware of the generous spirit that inhabits the fishing community. Three years ago, Kasamis lost his mother and two cats from a house fire and was the only one to survive. “All of my fishing collectable of rods and reels that I bought off of eBay were gone, even the watch that my father gave me. When the fishing community found out that I had lost all of my possessions in the fire, I received ten new rods and reels from them." Kasamis wanted to leave some advice for aspiring anglers: "Take a kid fishing. We live in a tumultuous world, but when a kid picks up a rod, hooks and reels in his first fish, all seems right in the world.”
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