I am not sure if I’ve ever actually been in a Bass Pro Shop. There are several reasons for this…
- They haven’t really been where I’ve lived.
- I tend to prefer my home shops (Ted Fay Fly Shop and The Fly Shop from my home waters).
- I am not a Bass Pro, nor a Bass Amateurs. I know, intellectually, that they carry more than bass stuff, but they just don’t come to mind when I think of buying, well, anything.
- NASCAR
- Sponsored Anglers and Sponsored Tournaments
Now I have a good reason to actually check out a Bass Pro Shop, one of which, I understand, may be coming in not far from my daughter’s school in San Jose.
The founder of Bass Pro Shop, Johnny Morris, just dropped $100,000 on the largest corporate gift ever received by the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust to help fund efforts to understand the decline in bonefish in the Keys.
Well. Hot damn. Good on ya Johnny Morris.
- If you liked the story above, check out these stories below
- Pirates of the Flats (1.000)
- Bonefish and Tarpon Trust + Pirates (1.000)
- You + BTT + South Andros = Good times (1.000)
The BPS has the White River Fly shop which has a pretty decent amount of decently priced gear and fly tying stuff… if your local shop doesn’t have it and you need it fast, well, there you go! Sometimes they know a lot about local fly fishing too! Your daughter will enjoy the fish tanks, etc. There is also the Wide World Sportsman in Islamorada, owned by BPS. Good on them for the BTT!
You’ve been ignorant about Bass Pro Shops for a long time. And Johnny Morris who has done way more than this one gift for BTT for many years now. And Bass Pro has offered entry level to expensive fly fishing equipment in their fly fishing and tying corner. You see ,they come from southern Missouri right near the Arkansas line and some of us say this is the best trout fishing area in the lower 48. So, get off the left coast every once in awhile and visit us on the White and the Norfork. And we Arkies even bonefish and can tie a wicked Gotcha that Sparkles loves on South Andros. Ya’ll come see us now , ya’ here.
Oh, the list of things I’m ignorant about is truly staggering. I just have not had much exposure to Bass Pro, but I sure can respect $100K for conservation.
Decent selection of fly tying materials and gear. I would not call it decently priced though, prices are high compared to everywhere else I’ve shopped. (At least at the Bass Pro near me) What they do have is a million other products for spin fisherman, some of which I use in tying, i.e. rattles, jig hooks, skirts etc.
I do have a White River 6′ 3″ trout rod that I like and use for guiding. Only cost $150, but no warranty.