Walpack Inn & Justin Lerner

Finally got a Sunday off after weeks holding down the fort while my supervisor is out after back surgery. Trish and I headed north, after I felt a little annoyed at her getting ready at what I believed was a late hour. (Did I express my disgruntlement? No, no, no. Not a word.) As it turned out, we arrived about 45 minutes before our table reservation, so we bought hard apple cider and sat on the lawn to enjoy Justin Lerner's performance.

Many of you probably know Justin Lerner from his FB posts of amazing catches. I did get to meet him when he took a break. 

I've felt so interested in shots of him with big browns, I asked him, "What's the biggest wild brown you've caught in New Jersey?"

He said he caught a 26-inch brown, adding that you can't tell for certain. I quickly agreed, but I really didn't know if maybe there's a sure way to tell the difference. He said the fins of his big one were clean. I had heard before that often you can tell it's a club fish by damaged fins.

The Walpack Inn is really only about an hour-and-a-half from Bedminster, when we take the road from Blairstown over to Millbrook. Go to Old Mine Road from Route 80's last exit, and it's surely two hours.

It's our favorite restaurant. Has a real sportsmen's feel about it.

On the way home, a bobcat ran across the road in front of our car.