Took a couple of days off last week to visit family in the area and get some opening week fishing in. Though the water was still coming down and a little chalky, managed to time the weather perfectly. Over 2 days of fishing the Esopus, managed a good number of bows ranging from 10-16" and only found 2 browns. But one of those browns happened to be the type of fish I have been looking for in the 12+ years I have fished this river. After thinking i snagged on a rock, the fight began and consisted of dangerous rock hopping and crawling/chasing down stream. After the fish finally came to net, it was a solid stunning male with a slight kype that measured 23", and guessing bang on the 4lb mark. Kept him in the water and he had plenty of energy to spare. A very brief hold and off he went with a quick splash from the tail.