As mentioned last week, Granny and I are doing the East Coast Fly Fishing Shows from my old 1991 Exploder. The only reason is that when we were without a home last year at this time, I had the silver SUV parked at Mom’s in NH. So part of this show tour is about getting my favorite fishing truck to our new place in WI. As you might expect, asking an already old car to start up and travel 2,500 miles from NH down to MA and back then to NJ then GA then up to WI during winter after being idle for 14 months, is asking a lot.
Things seemed ok ten days ago when we took the Exploder to the MA Fly Fishing Show from NH and back. Then last week, despite the George Washington Bridge in NYC being terrifying, we made it successfully from NH to NJ. But sure enough, as we started the NJ to Atlanta jaunt, the first challenge occurred.
We got all packed up Monday morning. I was stressed at the thought of maneuvering my stick-shift classic down the NJ turnpike. And wouldn’t you know, before we even left the parking lot, the Exploder wouldn’t start. At first my car wouldn’t even take a jump-start, but after we let it juice ten minutes, luckily it started and off we went – without much confidence might I say!
I had so little confidence that each time we gassed up or grabbed a snack, I left the car running. I didn’t turn it off until we got to a hotel in Staunton, VA. Staunton was nice by the way. We got a tasty Thai dinner at Ubon Thai then a couple beers at Byers St Bistro. It was a fun night however we spent the evening wondering if the Exploder would start in the morning.
As a lifetime angler I’m big on believing in good luck, and sure enough the car started. We were relieved. But before we even got on Highway 81 to continue, a god awful noise happened. Our dang muffler broke lose from our rusty tail pipe and hit the ground. It was raining and not much fun, but I took my knot demo rope for my Streamer Class and tied it together enough to get back on the road. My repair wasn’t pretty (likely not legal either) but we were on our way!
We were a little nervous at first. I didn’t go more than 55 mph for an hour. But gradually our sureness grew and eventually I took it to 65. Our dilemma of possibly breaking down on the highway became insignificant when we came upon an absolute disastrous fire engulfed crash involving two semi’s and several cars. At least Granny and I were alive and well and continued to move towards Atlanta, GA.
We made it as far as Bryson City, NC to our friend Mac Brown’s house arriving around 4 PM. But the exhaust system on the Exploder looked far worse than in the morning. My jimmy-rig had disintegrated as did a few more things. Lucky for us, Mac knows a mechanic shop that could get us in, and I dropped the Exploder off at 9 AM this morning.
Its all good news tonight, the Explorer is back in our hands and all patched up. I’m not saying we’re in the clear all the way back to WI, but we should make the 2.5 hours from here to Atlanta tomorrow. And of course, after all this, we hope to see you at the show!
Here are my seminar and demonstration times for this weekend at the Atlanta Fly Fishing Show. Click on the presentation titles for the full details.
Friday
11:30 – Catch Room – “Fly Fishing for Carp – A 20lb Fish Near Home”
2:15 – Casting Pond 1 – “Improve Your Dry Fly Presentation”
Saturday
11:15 – Casting Pond 2 – “Fly Casting 101”
3:00 – Release Room – “Tricks and Tactics for the World’s Best Flats”
Sunday
1:30 – Release Room – “Streamer Tricks for Larger Trout”
3:15 – Casting Pond 1 – “Casting in the Wind and the Double Haul”
Follow the daily events on my IG – @jeffcurrier65
Jeff,
Good luck with the 1991 Explorer. I just parted with my 1993 Ford Ranger last week – it really hurt but it was time to move on to a more modern vehicle where I could readily get parts.
Tad