an employee in east arlington told me that they were slowly taking away the fishing section completely, starting with the fly fishing gear. (thats what i was buying at the time.)

I don't see why they would have completely redone the fishing section here then. Just doesn't make sense to redo the reel counter and build a nice display for all the fish finders.

They closed an older store on Westheimer and opened a new one just around the corner on Hwy 6. I went there for the grand opening. The fishing department was horribly under-stocked for an old store, let alone a brand new one. I spoke with the manager to find out what was going on. He said that they hadn't moved all of the inventory from the old store. I told him that was a bunch of baloney. I told him there wasn't anything to move from the old store; it was empty too. He said that I should go to Academy's website. I told him "why should I go to your website when there is an Academy within a 10 mile radius of anything."

Academy is definitley taking adavantage of the recent push for gun rights. There is 3 times the amount of pistols in their display cases than in years past. By the way, the fishing deprtment in new store on Hwy 6 is still barren.

Its the same down here in houston, even in the gandermountain, its kinda gone down hill. I remember when they had the soft plastics bar in academy. THAT was my all time favorite when I was a kid(still pretty much a kid now haha). Internet is the way to go nowadays, but I still prefer physically touching my rods and reels. I gotta make sure it feels right.

i was just saying that they were closing it in my town. unrelated to what you said.

Yep, I remember the worm bar. Brings back memories!

For the basics Academy is great, for all else online or Bass Pro.

Went to the Academy in San Marcos today, lots of empty racks and smaller choices every time I go back it only gets worse.
Cabelas is just up the road and will be getting my $$

Correct.

they had by far, the best deal on ar15 right before christmas, going back to get another. cabela's had a line going out the door, and was higher priced. the one in burleson is great for fishing stuff, guns, even apperal. maybe some stores are just better than others,

Cabelas prices are often 10%-20% higher than the manufacturer website suggested price.

I've resigned to shopping online and at Barlow's. Definitely miss the good ole days when going to Academy was fun, but now it's just frustrating and depressing. Haven't been happy with Cabelas or BPS pricing and they don't have exactly what I'm looking for half the time.

Never depended on Academy for my gear , like to use local stores or go online .

Was talking to a worker at an Academy recently about them not having some of the items they used to. Told him I placed the blame at the corporate level, not the stores, and he wholeheartedly agreed. This was a store near a large lake where it happens to be very popular to use saltwater gear (e.g. surf rods, large heavy reels, etc.). They had virtually none compared to what they used to carry. Apparently, corporate decided they had no need to sell any saltwater gear there because it's too far from the coast. When asked if they just don't listen to the managers about what sells around there, he said their fishing manager is a tournament bass fisherman, and the higherups refuse to listen to even him about what lures are hot in the tournament scene and would sell like crazy.

Sounds like they're doing every bit of their marketing research from behind a desk looking only at a road map rather than having someone on the ground looking at what actually sells in the area.