Service With A Smile
By Scott Hammer
Mid-Atlantic Staff Writer
August 6, 2009
What factors determine where you spend your hard earned money for tackle? Price? Selection? I’ll be upfront and honest, I’m on the Pro-Staff for Bass Pro Shops. I’m also a pro-staffer for a small tackle store I visit one time a year. Yep, just one time. Here’s why I don’t feel this is a conflict of interest: both stores proudly carry Yamamoto products and stock a wide selection of both hunting and fishing supplies. Bass Pro Shops is a national big box retailer. KD Outdoors is a small local tackle store in Waterford, Michigan owned by Ken and Rhonda Neeley.
Both stores have a lot in common and yet they serve very different purposes. Both carry my favorite bait (the Senko in color 297) but Bass Pro Shops carries a broader color selection in the Senko line, ands K&D has a more limited selection. Why? KD Outdoors has limited shelf space and while most think this is a negative, it is not.
Why The Local Tackle Store Works
Ken is an avid Lake St. Clair fisherman and is on Skeeter Boats National Team. He knows how to fish, where to fish and what works on the lake in every season. He stocks and knows what is working at any given time. He has to, because he doesn’t have the room to carry every color choice and he can’t afford to have inventory sit on his shelves unsold.
In addition to carrying the right baits in the right colors, Ken can show you how to rig them and how to fish them, most of the time with a trick or tip added in at no extra charge. KD Outdoors is also a Minnkota service shop and while we were there this year a problem surfaced with one of the trolling motors and we got it fixed at the shop, while we waited, under warranty.
The Benefits of the Mega-Store
Bass Pro Shops is a mega-store; it truly is a fun-filled destination with its huge aquarium, waterfalls, animal mounts, climbing wall, arcade games and even a restaurant in some stores. They carry a vast selection of products from furniture to fishing poles and I cannot begin to explain the experience if you’ve never been. It’s been called the grown man’s Chuck E Cheese! They carry clothing for the entire family as well as boats, electronics, hunting, camping, footwear, cooking, jewelry, books, videos and food products. There is literally something for everyone.
In the fishing department alone, the lure selection can be overwhelming. When I do seminars or tank demonstrations, I help customers narrow down their bait needs, and for the most part, store employees have a working knowledge of the baits and where to find them. I recommend a shopping list if you’re going to Bass Pro Shops because without one you’ll more than likely walk out with more gear than you planned on buying.
If you know what you’re looking for Bass Pro will more than likely have it, and at a very competitive price, but they may not have the newest baits simply because of the way their purchasing and distribution system works. A smaller shop like KD Outdoors will order directly from the manufacturer and will usually have newer bait quicker. This can be quite an advantage, but be advised, you’ll pay a premium for that quick turn around. You also have the option of buying directly from the manufacturer, but if you’re like me, you like to physically touch and inspect new tackle before you buy it. |
The good news? You have choices and each store has its own set of benefits. Bass Pro certainly isn’t worried about losing business to KD Outdoors and Ken isn’t in direct competition with Bass Pro. They both serve different needs. It’s becoming more common now across the country to see a Bass Pro open a store in close proximity to smaller tackle retailers. It can be a mutually beneficial situation.