Chip with a beautiful brown trout.  Chip made an amazing recovery from his short-term illness yesterday.  When he got to the river finally some time after noon, he immediately landed this fish as makeup for the lost morning.

These fish are incredibly difficult to catch.  They tend to lie is places that they are difficult to spot, difficult to cast to, and spook at the slightest indication of an intruder in their world.  Many times I have heard my guide say, "Perfect cast!!  Oh, that bugger!!  He buggered off!"  "Bugger" seems to have many uses here in NZ.  It can be used a noun, adjective, or adverb, much like "F" bomb back home.  But when it all comes together, it is truly sweet.  But you have to remember that merely hooking the fish does not complete the task.  Once hooked these fish seem to like to run downstream.  You have to chase them, often long distances, running over the same rocks that a short time before you were very carefully picking your way over.  Then the fish goes into a pile of "rubbish" or behind a rock.  Using 5X or 6X tippet, it is a challenge to get them out.  I lost a really nice 6lb'er yesterday when it bolted from the net and broke a badly frayed tippet.  Argghh!!  So close, but so far.