"One thing about pike fishing, you can fish a few days in a row and never have a flag," the Camden man said earlier this week. "You've got to put your time in."

Motto knows a little bit about putting in his time. When he live in Cape Cod, he worked as a commercial rod-and-reel fisherman.

"We fished for codfish, striped bass, and did some tuna wishing," Motta said, explaining that the term he chose is accurate for the slow-action tuna game.

"There's a lot more time wishing than fishing (with tuna)," he said.

In April, he moved to Camden and took a job as the sternman on a lobster boat. Now, his rod-and-reel fishing isn't done for a paycheck, but for the sheer enjoyment of it. Ans then there's ice fishing.

In January, Motta went ice fishing for pike on Great Pond in Belgrade. He spent a few days hoping to hook a monster.

Apparently years of "putting in the time" paid dividends.

"You hear of things happening to people, just unbelievable luck, and I guess it was just my turn," Motta said.

Motta, who was fishing out of Belgrade Lake Four Seasons Cottages, headed onto th ewater with the same goal he always had.

Catch a 15-pounder. Keep it. Have it mounted.

Then he caught a 17-pounder ... and his goal changed.

"I saw it and said, 'I live in Maine now. I'll let it go,"' Motta said, explaining that he figured he ought to help preserve his new home state's fishery.

But he soon started rethinking his decision.

"You're sitting there, saying, 'I wonder if I made a mistake,"' Motta said.

Luckily, he didn't have much time to say things like that.

An hour after releasing the first pike, he hooked onto another fish ... through the same hole. This one was bigger ... fatter ... a keeper.

The pike weighed in at 27 pounds, was 43 inches long, and had a girth of 24 inches.

Bob Motta of Camden displays the 27-pound northern pike he caught recently in Great Pond in Belgrade.

Motta said he was lucky to catch the pike.

"I talked to the taxidermist and he said he found a hook and part of a leader in [the pike]," Motta said. "He thinks someone else hooked it that morning before I caught it."

Before he hooked the 17-pounder, the largest pike Motta had ever caught was a 13-pounder

But he wasn't done.

The next day, he caught and released a 23-pounder.

Despite what might be described as a "career" fishing trip, Motta plans to keep on trying to fool finicky pike. After all, he says, his fish weren't the biggest in the lake. They were just the biggest he'd caught.

"Thirty-one pounds, two ounces is the state record, and I guess it's been five years since that was caught," Motta said. "The biologists have said they've netted 'em bigger. It's just a matter of time before someone catches one."

Someone like Motta?

Perhaps.

So, you heard all about LD 468, the bill that would change the state's ice fishing landscape. You nearly spit out your corn flakes when you read about it. You're mad. You want to do something. You want to be heard.

Dennis Smith has a solution.

Otter Creek's Smith is planning to take a sizable group of angry anglers to Augusta this week when a hearing is held on the bill.

Smith has chartered a bus and figures he'll have no trouble filling it with ice fishermen who feel like he does.

The hearing is set for Tuesday at 1 p.m. in Poom 209 of the Cross Building in Augusta.

In a nutshell, LD 468 would lop a month off the ice fishing season, establish a two-trap limit, and limit ice fishing derbies.

Smith is opposed to the bill for several reasons.

"No. 1, it's going to wreak havoc with the economy," Smith said. "The people who sell bait tend to be mom and pop businesses, small stores that depend on selling bait for their income each winter."

Smith said closing lakes and ponds to ice fishing until February would be devestating, as would cutting the line limit from five to two.

"Most of your ice fishing is done in January and February," Smith said. "Cut out 50 percent of that (by eliminating January fishing) and you cut out pretty close to 50 percent of your demand for bait. Put on top of that a two-trap limit and you've cut out (60 percent) of your demand for bait."

Smith also feels that laws that target ice fishing season aren't fair in another way.

"It's a form of class warfare," Smith said. "There's a lot of people who can't afford a big boat, or who work seven days a week during the summertime to make ends meet, especially in your 'Other Maine.' You're just cutting these people's recreation entirely."

Smith said that if conservation is the goal, there are other ways to accomplish it.

"Are they trying to save fish? Because if they're trying to save fish, it would be more productive to have a catch-and-release only through May and June," Smith said. "They've got their priorities all screwed up if they're trying to save fish."

If you're interested in joining Smith, call him at 288-5457. He'll save you a spot on the bus, and give you the rest of the details.
"This content originally appeared as a copyrighted article in the Saturday/Sunday, March 1-2, 2003 edition of the Bangor Daily NEWS and is used here with permission."