My Wife Thinks The World Is Ending

[Justin Spencer]

If I don't go in, I will not buy the small extras that are more profitable.

My point is that you aren't their target anymore, if they can sell their own brand of rods and clothing they make much more on those items that they buy by the container from China than they do reselling a few Winstons or another high end item, they still sell many of the same things that made them a market power so I wouldn't say they are abandoning it, they are just shifting focus a little because the market is changing. I'm sure BPS has been hit hard by the online sporting goods industry and that could be a big part of the reason we are seeing them change. We can all find a high end rod cheaper online than we can going to bass pro and if we know what we're after we will try and find it for the best price we can and have it delivered to our door.

I have never been a huge BPS guy, I of course like going there as much as anyone, so I don't see exactly how things have changed. I'm sure quality has gone down as they strive to keep prices down, and evidently they don't carry as much or the same tackle as before, but sure seems like they got a lot of sporting goods stuff to me.

[Flysmallie]

I'm sure BPS has been hit hard by the online sporting goods industry

I have never been a huge BPS guy, I of course like going there as much as anyone, so I don't see exactly how things have changed. I'm sure quality has gone down as they strive to keep prices down, and evidently they don't carry as much or the same tackle as before, but sure seems like they got a lot of sporting goods stuff to me.

BPS has always done well with their catalog sales, that has been a huge portion of their business since the beginning. So I don't think they have been hit that hard from online sales, it's more likely that it has actually helped their business.

The problem with the the Fishing department in Springfield has been it's move to their brand. In the beginning you saw one or two items that were BPS branded products. Now that's about all you see, that's what's always on sell and I think it's really starting to hurt them. The knowledge of their staff has gone down, they still have some good ones, but when you walk into the fly shop and there is a female college student working in there claiming she knows nothing about fishing then you might want to consider how much that is really saving you. They are more interested in having the tourist pour through there and pick up a few branded items than actually being able to understand that they could have both. The fly shop has shrunk over the years. It used to be full of stuff, now they usually don't have what you are looking for. But hey, all the stuff is available form the catalog and you can have it shipped to your house for a small fee, even though you live less than 5 miles away.

I don't think anyone faults any business for going after whatever money they can make in this economy, but this change started long before the economy got bad. It's just sad to see that "one of America’s premier outdoor retailers" can't be just that right here in their home town.

[Justin Spencer]

I'm not defending the changes Bass Pro has made, but as far as I know the company as a whole is not hurting. I could be wrong, but it is my opinion that they probably know better than anyone what they are doing and why. If they are in fact hurting then it looks like a few of us need to go apply for a job up there and get them turned around.

[Outside Bend]

I don't know Bass Pro's inner workings, but I know when they opened the store here in Columbia there were rumors the company was getting over-extended. Opening too many branch stores too rapidly instead of focusing on catalog sales and the flagship stores. Looking at the map they have something like 50-60 stores in the US and Canada now, somewhere around twice as many. Maybe they were just overly ambitious, and they're scaling back on fishing and focusing on their own label as a cost-saving measure.

I'm just ruminating now

[Justin Spencer]

Maybe they are using that Crispy Creme business model!

[eric1978]

It doesn't bother me one iota that BPS sucks...truth be told I was never enamored with that store the way others were (are). If I need some wiggle warts or some wool socks quickly, I know where to go. If I'm looking for quality products at a decent price, I go somewhere else. It'd be like going to Walmart to shop for fine china.

I'm actually happy to see them move in another direction. That'll open more doors for the small local and online fly shops. I think BPS will probably keep the gear guys' and the "casual angler's" business locked up for a while, though. It's tough to compete with 10 aisles of plastics. And they even carry Lucky Craft. If they added Megabass I don't think there's a piece of conventional tackle on the planet they don't have.

[ozark trout fisher]

If my not going to get my fly gear at an actual fly shop, then there's no way that I'm going to get it at Bass Pro, and pay twice as much as I would on Fly Shack. Personally if there was a fly shop anywhere near where I live that's where I'd go, period, even if it cost a little more. Nothing quite like advice and attention you get at the real thing, and I patronize them any time I have a chance. But there isn't one anywhere around here, or around most of the places I like to fish, so as of now I buy most all of my flies, tying materials, indicators, lead, and other such things online. Leaders and tippet I usually just pick up at Walmart on the way to the stream. No need to spend more than a couple bucks on such things.

For conventional tackle though, Bass Pro has a pretty good selection. But I'm not too enamored of their fly shop. For goodness sake they at least need to start carrying beadhead egg patterns! As a point of reference, a visit to the Walmart in Glenwood Springs, Colorado this summer proved that it has a much better fly selection than the Bass Pro Shops in Missouri do, although that may be for largely understandable reasons:)

[Justin Spencer]

I would guess most of us enjoy going to local fly shops located near the river or stream we are fishing. May not get the majority of my flies there, but always get good advice on what is happening now, and buy a few of the hot flies. At least as for payment for the advice. Even going to the Norfork or White I still like stopping at Blue Ribbon, or Dally's just to see what the news is even though I could catch fish without doing it.