Here in Longview, TX we only have one aisle of fishing lures [don't know about the hunting section], but tonight I was in there and the fishing section looked like it could use a good stocking! I could see them not wanting to compete with Academy down the street, but the tackle section should bring them a good margin on what they sell. At the same time they may not be making so much off the tackle due to shrink from shoplifting. If I'm not mistaken, the Loss Prevention associates can not make a shoplifting detention if the value is under $25.00. With that in mind, think about how much tackle people steal and sell at flea markets and on ebay. Big business!!

When you think of Wal-Mart, do the words "fishing equipment" automatically come to mind?  If so, you probably live in a city/town that is too small to support Academy, BPS or Cabellas.  If the word Academy comes to mind, then you live in a slightly larger town ... you can figure it out from here.  I am lucky to have both an Academy and a BPS very near.  Accordingly, the LAST place I will choose to visit for my fishing equipment will be Wal-Mart.

Because any Wal-Mart executive worth his salt already knows the demographics of a particular area, iit wouldn't take a lot of thought on his/her part to downsize or eliminate or even increase that portion of business.  It all boils down to the big box competition nearby.  Regardless of the location, that same executive knows that its shoppers are budget minded, and will never attempt to sell high-end equipment.  If you want a $25 rod or reel, Wally-World is the place to go.

When you think of Wal-Mart, do the words "fishing equipment" automatically come to mind? If so, you probably live in a city/town that is too small to support Academy, BPS or Cabellas. If the word Academy comes to mind, then you live in a slightly larger town ... you can figure it out from here. I am lucky to have both an Academy and a BPS very near. Accordingly, the LAST place I will choose to visit for my fishing equipment will be Wal-Mart.

Because any Wal-Mart executive worth his salt already knows the demographics of a particular area, iit wouldn't take a lot of thought on his/her part to downsize or eliminate or even increase that portion of business. It all boils down to the big box competition nearby. Regardless of the location, that same executive knows that its shoppers are budget minded, and will never attempt to sell high-end equipment. If you want a $25 rod or reel, Wally-World is the place to go.

You got it man.

JT Bagwell

I am very glad to see Walmart out of the fishing business. They never put much into it as  afr as I have noticed. I used to travel all over the country and their fishing sections often didn't match the local area. Our local Walmart is horrible since becoming a supercenter. The small one in Belton, TX (the un-supercenter) had twice the inventory of fishing gear that the new one does and we are between two good lakes (less than 10 miles from Wallyworld). We used to have several tackle shops in our twn which have vanished.

Shoot..... I am in Texas and our Wamart got rid of their guns??!!!

I may try to fill a gap here!

FLECHERO- lets do it! Belton needs us! GO BIG RED

I took that bass pro and gander were at lest teaming up. I saw that there selling trackers and nirtos but only at store in baxter mn. Man if it gos farther I hope they start carrying more lures. Gander has a nice slection but they need more. The store around here has almost 1/4 of the store for hunting. They dont even have 1/8 for fishing.

so what happens to flw?

While the other news is a done deal--remember you heard it here first--I am not 100% positive but if I heard correctly, without Wal-Mart the FLW is a thing of the past.

I think Wal/Mart will still sponsor the FLW it's just their FLW tackle really never sold well. What helped kill B.AS.S? Was when they forced Ray Scott out cause with him went the dream of B.A.S.S. I also heard the Jerry McKinnis is leaving B.A.S.S. and ESPN.

I've also heard rumors (from an inside source) of Academy stepping up their sponsorship $$$ of tournaments.

I have noticed the expansion of the fishing sections in the Wal-Marts that are located close to large lakes (BFL meating locations) and I have seen the reduction of it in non-fishing areas. So maybe they are paying attention to what they send where to maximize profit.

I used to shop the clearances in the stores in downtown Atlanta. They always had a buch of fishing stuff for cheep. My hometown Wal-Mart in located close to Clarks Hill Lake and it never puts it's fishing stuff on clearance.

I'll tell you what...my Wal-Mart is 5 minutes away from my house and its awfully nice to be able to go there, pick up hooks, a good choice of soft plastics, pliers and line, hard baits, some good spinnerbaits...sure beats the heck out of ordering on-line or driving an hour to BPS.  I can only speak personally, obviously, but the wal-mart here did not sell crappy stuff and have very little selection.  They obviously didn't have everything I could get at a BPS but they had quality stuff that has filled a lot of my tackle box.

The section now though does not exist...for however long.  The whole store is being re-modeled and the two aisles that held fishing are currently not in place.  I dunno if they are coming back..but I sure hope so because it really is nice to be at Wal-Mart..remember I need some hooks or yada yada yada...and be able to get it instantly.

IF ANYONE READ WAL-MARTS NEWS RELEASE, THEN YOU WOULD KNOW THAT MOST OF THE STORES ARE DOWNSIZING AND PHASING OUT THEIR FISHING AND HUNTING SECTIONS.  ONLY CERTAIN STORES IN EACH STATE WILL CARRY GUNS AND COMPLETE LINE OF FISHING GEAR.  

I BET THOUGH, THAT IN THE NEXT 5 YRS....THEY WILL BE SELLING NOTHING IN THAT AREA OF THE STORE....ONLY CAMPING AND EXCERSIZE THINGS...LIKE THIS FAT BOY NEEDS ANY OF THAT....LOL

Walmart is undergoing a rebuilding of sorts and trying to cut inventory. They are taking past sales of firearms in each store and fazing firearms out of the stores that have low sales. Walmart is also fazing out the tackle that doesnt sell and having a better quality but less amount of tackle on there sales floor and in inventory. They are by no means doing away with the fishing tackle all together. Think about it one of the top pro tours in the nation sponsors is going to do away with there tackle only way I see that is if they stop sponsoring the FLW.

THEY COULD STILL SPONSOR THE FLW AND NOT SELL ANY FISHING GEAR.  

YOU'VE GO KELLOG'S, BANANA BOAT, CHEVY, LAND O LAKES, A&W, AND BOUNTY, JUST TO NAME A FEW THAT DON'T SELL FISHING EQUIPMENT.  SO I DON'T THINK THAT WOULD BE A FACTOR.

THEY ARE SLOWLY PHASING OUT OF STORES THAT DON'T DO SO WELL.  THE ONE NEAR ME IS ONE OF THEM.  THE STORE MGR TOLD ME SO.

But what does this news mean for us in the short term? CLEARANCE SALES

I am very glad to see Walmart out of the fishing business. They never put much into it as  afr as I have noticed. I used to travel all over the country and their fishing sections often didn't match the local area. Our local Walmart is horrible since becoming a supercenter. The small one in Belton, TX (the un-supercenter) had twice the inventory of fishing gear that the new one does and we are between two good lakes (less than 10 miles from Wallyworld). We used to have several tackle shops in our twn which have vanished.

Shoot..... I am in Texas and our Wamart got rid of their guns??!!!

I may try to fill a gap here!

FLECHERO- lets do it! Belton needs us! GO BIG RED

I'm a little light in the wallet for an investment of that size....  but it would be great to be able to stock the locally demanded stuff!  I drive lots of miles to Sportsman's Warehouse (in Round Rock) every month, filling my "local" needs.   >  Even Academy is at the mercy of corporate nowadays.  My 2 buddies that work there (in the next town)  said they no longer have any input to what tackle they get or stock.

I would wait for all of the "facts" to come out before I got to excited

about anything. So far this thread is the only place I have heard any of this

information and to me that is a little odd.

JT Bagwell

From the same inside source

                                         Donald trump sold his hair piece to a jig maker

                                         Richard Simmons bought the WWF

                                         Paris Hilton joined a convent today

                                         Jerry Springer bought his own trailer park

All this is TRUE

                                     

I think Muddy is right on.

I actually saw Anna Nicole Smith and Elvis shopping for plastic worms at Wal-Mart

You guys can laugh all you want--just hide and watch and you will hear --the rest of the story.

I will accept an "ok you were right" later. 8-)

BassChaser57,

I haven't asked about any other source, my confidence level in your information is very high.

I can hardly wait for additional confirmation. Do you expect that anytime soon?

BTW, "First to know" is cool with me! Thanks for the heads-up.

Yeah, I spoke with sales associates at two Wal-Marts, and both said that neither the gun section or the fishing section were going out.

From the same inside source

                                         Donald trump sold his hair piece to a jig maker

                                         Richard Simmons bought the WWF

                                         Paris Hilton joined a convent today

                                         Jerry Springer bought his own trailer park

All this is TRUE

                                   

LOL

I sure Wal-Mart isn't ending its fishing line. I buy a lot of stuff there. :-/

The Walmart that I shop at is doing just the opposite.They are expanding their line of baits.They're now selling Senkos,Chatterbaits,Minn-Kota on board battery charging systems,DT line of Rapala crankbaits,DD line of Norman crankbaits,and several more that escape me at the moment.A friend of mine,who is the sporting goods dept. mgr.,says they are not phasing out,but they are expanding.He does say ,however,that the stores that don't sell a large number of guns will be phasing out,but that will be a while before that happens.The big gun sellers will continue to sell guns.

Wal Mart will do whatever the trends tell them.  If a store sells a lot of tackle, then they will not eliminate that moneymaker.  Same goes for guns.

While they are trying to change the direction of their stores (into a more Target-like model, exactly why is beyond me), they will not eliminate a department that is making money.