Seems to good to be true, but Bass Pro Shops is opening a store in a couple weeks right in my little town of 40,000. Literally 8 minutes from my house. KVD, Roland Martin, and Jimmy Houston will be there for the opening event. Pretty cool! 
The only tackle shop near me currently is Dick’s Sporting Goods, but whoever is responsible for stocking that store obviously has no love for bass, and there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to what they do stock. It’s gonna be nice to browse a store that actually stocks bass equipment. 

That's awesome, congratulations! My nearest of either Cabelas or BPS is an hour away. I love to go in there and browse for an hour or two.

@Bazoo before this one, the closest one was a little over an hour from me but it was an “outpost” which is a smaller BPS store. This one opening is “outdoor world” which is the larger of their 2 types of stores. 

I live a few miles from the one in Springfield, They are a cool place. Warning can put a dent in your checking account . 

We have one in Iowa that's almost 2 hours away.

 

I'll stick to my online shopping. 

I have both a Cabelas and a BassPro that are about an hour away. They were built of course before the buyout. I haven't been to the BassPro yet, but the Cabelas is pretty nice. I went to a BassPro when I was in NC, and it appeared to be originally a Bass Pro.

Hello Mr. Baitmonkey!

 

A new Bass Pro opened by me about 2 years ago. Still haven't stopped in. Lol. A new Academy is going to open in August and I am pretty excited about that.

No BPS here either.  They are all Cabelas (that is obviously owned by BPS).

 

The Cabelas about 15 mins from me has more fishing tackle than any other retailer I've ever been to.  And everything is always in stock too.  There must be 25 aisles of stuff.

 

People can say what they want about Bass Pro Shops, but I like them.  And Cabelas.  I am almost solely an in-person, brick and mortar customer.

6 minutes ago, gim said:

People can say what they want about Bass Pro Shops, but I like them.  And Cabelas.  I am almost solely an in-person, brick and mortar customer.

I’ve never had the option to handle a rod before I buy it. Dick’s has never, not one time, ever, had the exact rod I was looking for. And there aren’t any small tackle stores near me. Can’t even find a bait shop. BPS will probably carry a lot of what I’m looking for, which will be great for once. Really looking forward to some in-person shopping. 

Congratulations, you’ll love it but the bait monkey loves to hang out there. My closest BPS is in Little Rock, 2 1/2 to 3 hours away.

 

Edit, If you can swing a part time job the employee discount is really good………really, really good.

28 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

BPS will probably carry a lot of what I’m looking for, which will be great for once. Really looking forward to some in-person shopping. 

 

Their annual spring sale is pretty good.  They have been having a trade in program with rods and reels in recent memory so if you bring one in, you get a discount on a new one.  They donate the ones people bring in.

7 hours ago, HawkeyeSmallie said:

We have one in Iowa that's almost 2 hours away.

 

I'll stick to my online shopping. 

The one here in Iowa near me in Altoona I dang near can’t stand to go to lol. I prefer to just shop on line or go to scheels 

13 minutes ago, Joedodge said:

scheels 

 

They are pretty good, there is one near me about 25 mins away.

 

The problem is that they only have their tackle out for half the year.  The other half is ice fishing which has zero appeal to me.  It's as if they think no one wants to buy fishing tackle as a Christmas gift ?

Just now, gim said:

 

They are pretty good, there is one near me about 25 mins away.

 

The problem is that they only have their tackle out for half the year.  The other half is ice fishing which has zero appeal to me.  It's as if they think no one wants to buy fishing tackle as a Christmas gift ?

Excellent point! That is silly. I love the look and feel of bass pro. I just can’t stand al the people lol. But I’d be a liar if I said I dont buy stuff there. Just not my favorite store lol. 
 

and I agree I have zero interest in ice fishing lol. 

BPS lost me buying Cabela’s then shutting down the Sidney NB headquarters killing the town. BPS supports our troops and that is a good thing!

Tom 

I like BPS and have bought a plethora of tackle there.

It's over an hour drive but still make it there several times a year.

That's awesome @Jar11591!!

 

We have BPS, Cabela's and Scheels in the Omaha area. I very much like them all. 

Cool beans, Jesse!

Bass Pro Shop has an amazing selection. Their clothing is shockingly decent as well. My wife has actually bought clothes there she enjoys. I'm glad you're getting one! I'm a fan. 

 

My only real knock on them (other than the standard gripes I have with big companies making it harder for family run shops) is their employees often times don't have deep knowledge or passion like you get from a mom and pop place. 

 

But man, like I said above, you cannot beat their selection. They have pretty much everything on the floor you might want. 

Here in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia we have:

Cabela's

Academy

Bass Pro Shop (but up north on I-95, towards Ashland).

 

Cabela's and Academy are probably 2 miles from each other in the west end in Henrico Co area called Short Pump.

 

....And we can't leave out the famous "mom 'n pop" store called Green Top, but they are more geared towards hunting, compound bows, rifles, treestands, etc...  They do have a nice (but small) fishing section though.

2 hours ago, volzfan59 said:

employee discount is really good………really, really good.

But do you know how good?

@Jar11591 you should definitely still just shop at Omnia

I like Cabelas and BPS. I don't agree with some of their business decisions, but I love the store, the atmosphere, the selection of products, and some of their house brand items.

 

Academy was mentioned, I also like Academy. Some of their tackle is very good.

8 minutes ago, Banned User said:

But do you know how good?

@Jar11591 you should definitely still just shop at Omnia

Yes I do, as a former BPS employee I know exactly how good it is.

On 7/16/2025 at 10:26 PM, volzfan59 said:

Yes I do, as a former BPS employee I know exactly how good it is.

Agreed. Same here. 40% on any BLS/Cabelas product and 15% on most everything else. 7% on reels, ammo, guns. Every so often, they run special sales where they’ll up the discount to 50%. 
 

One thing I’ve noticed regarding tackle selection. If the bass pro was a purpose built bass pro, their tackle selection is usually bigger and better. If they are a “repurposed” Cabela’s, their fishing section isn’t as good for some reason. How do you know? The purpose build BPS stores have a turnstile. Cabela’s ones don’t.