Catching a big fish – and here I mean really, really big fish – is sometimes a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. These whoppers are smart (or, at least that’s what we tell ourselves after we make the mistake that costs us that lunker). They learn from their own errors in judgment … and take advantage of ours.

And once you’ve hooked one … and lost it … you’ll never get another chance at him.

At least, that’s what we tell each other (in that odd, scolding tone we save for other unfortunate anglers).

Scott Picard of Madawaska will tell you no such thing. And he has the fish story to prove his point.

Picard is an avid angler. He spends a lot of time on Long Lake in St. Agatha, one of the state’s hotspots for landlocked salmon.

On opening day – Jan. 15 – he hooked a huge salmon … and lost it. Three days later, he got a second chance. He knows (as only a jilted angler can know) the fish was the same one he’d missed. And he took full advantage of the opportunity.

Here’s an edited version of the tale he shared via e-mail.

First, what happened on Jan. 15? After checking a flag and finding out that a fish had peeled off 150 feet of line, Picard began to haul it in.

“I was still in the process of bringing him to the ice when I realized all my line was tangling on the ice,” Picard wrote. “I began threading the line back on the reel as I held the fish in the other hand. The wind was whipping snow in my face and freezing my hand.

“I lost the line in the hand holding the fish as I tried to untangle the loose line on the ice. When I [grabbed that end], the fish had freed itself. I never thought I would have another opportunity at the fish, til … Jan. 18.

At about 8:20 a.m. on Sunday, Picard tended his traps and checked his bait, only to find that that one flag that hadn’t tripped … and it should have.

“There was almost no more line on the spool,” Picard wrote. “I felt a strong, methodic pull and a great big smile came to my face. I excitedly said to my girlfriend, ‘It’s the monster I missed on the 15th.'”

Picard and the fish engaged in a spirited tug-of-war over the ensuing 15 minutes. Upon pulling the fish onto the ice, Picard’s reaction was predictable.

“I began yelling, ‘Yes! Yes! That’s the big one!'” Picard wrote.

Now for the numbers you’ve been waiting for:

Picard’s salmon – a stocked fish – was 27 inches long and weighed 7.86 pounds.

One last footnote: Picard has had a productive couple seasons of fishing. He also landed a 7.84-pounder during the open water season.

Polar Dip Update: Ten days or so ago, I asked for your help in raising money for the Ronald McDonald House … and you responded.

The “bait,” if you will, was me. If readers donated $1,000 toward the cause, I promised I’d jump into Passamaquoddy Bay as part of the Washington County Community College Student Senate’s Polar Bear Dip.

As it turns out, the $1,000 goal was a bit overly ambitious. As of Wednesday afternoon, donations had reached $307.77. And according to the rules (which I wrote), that means you’ve left the decision up to me. I can swim if I want … or I can stay warm and dry.

The verdict is in: I’m swimming.

Some of you are undoubtedly shaking your head at the news, chalking up this declaration as proof positive that I have finally lost complete control of my senses.

That’s not the case. At least, I don’t think it is.

Here’s the deal: At some point between writing that first column … and providing myself a nifty little escape clause … and today, I realized that falling a bit short of the goal isn’t really important.

Being a part of something special, for a special cause, is. And I want to make sure that I don’t miss that opportunity.

At noon on Friday, I’ll be among a few hundred people who feel the same way I do. We’ll plunge into the water, and sprint back to dry land and our designated towel-holders.

Thousands more will watch the foolishness.

It won’t take long … unless, of course, we end up with a pig pile of polar bears trying to escape the water all at once.

And on Saturday (assuming, of course, that my fingers have thawed enough to allow me to type), I’ll tell you all about it.

One more thing (you probably knew this was coming). If you decide you want to do a little bit of good for a great cause, consider stopping by and watching … or sending a few bucks our way.

Make the check payable to the Ronald McDonald House, and send it to my attention here at the Bangor Daily News, P.O. Box 1329, Bangor, 04402-1329.

Thanks again for all your help.

Anglers interested in bagging a bigger fish than normal may want to take note of an ice fishing derby taking place this weekend.

The pike-only derby, set for Sunday, will be staged on Long Pond in Belgrade.

Long Pond hasn’t traditionally been open to ice-fishing, and many anglers are expected to show up and try to tangle with a non-native pike.

Veteran observers expect the lake to produce the state-record pike soon … perhaps as soon as Sunday.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.