Bass Pro has ruined my Cabelas...

Since Bass Pro Shop bought out Cabela's, the fishing department in my local Cabela's is awful. A ton of the rod and reel selections are gone. They've kept a bunch of lower end [censored] and inserted a ton of BPS branded stuff. It's just horrible.

There is a whole wall of BPS branded soft plastics, but 3/4 of the Zoom and almost all the Yamamoto baits are gone. Even small things like the selection of scents for bait: there used to be several good ones (Smelly Jelly, etc.) but now they have been replaced by just a few brands and those are ones I've never heard of. The hard bait aisles are dominated by BPS brand.

I don't get it since regular Bass Pro Shops have a great selection of everything. There is no BPS nearby so there's no reason not to have a good (albeit smaller) fishing section.

Makes no sense to me.

I loved the old Cabela's and like regular Bass Pro Shops, but this bastardized hybrid is awful.

Do not know if it is true or not but I had heard that Bass Pro is making Cabela's more of a outdoor clothing type store. They will still carry fishing tackle and hunting supplies with a lot fewer selections.

I have noticed the same thing in the Waco store. Most of the apparel has their logo on it, if I am going to advertise for Cabela's or Bass Pro they should give me the stuff. I refuse to buy products with the store name on it what ever it may be.
Like said above lots of plastics but most of them are bass pro shops. I know what I want and it is not there any longer. It may be in our head but if we are hooked on a Zoom 10 inch lizard that is what I want not a bps brand!!!!!

Have to agree. They have gotten rid of any high-end baits, Megabass etc., in favor of Strike King or BPS brand. I spent 20 minutes last time out wandering the store trying to spend a $5 gift card. Also quit using my Cabela’s credit card because it now is nearly impossible to find anything there to use my points on. Wonder how long the FTW Cabela’s will survive.

Did anyone else lose their Cabela's reward points when the merger happened? I don't know how much I had ($50 or so) but when they merged it with my Bass Pro Shops points I only had $13 in reward money. I asked the people at the Cabela's in Allen about it yesterday and they just kind of looked at me like I was speaking a foreign language and told me to call the corporate office, which I plan on doing this week but don't have real high hopes of getting the points back.

I made a small purchase at Cabela's today and my points balance was accurate. My card is a Cabela's not a BPS.

I miss some of the Cabelas Guidewear apparel the most.

So true the one in Allen doesn’t have many selections either. Went to get a NRX they only had 2 spinning rods in stk

The logo thing is a tuff way to live... Do you only wear t-shirts with no logos, what about shoes? Heck what car do you drive, did they give you the car? Does this only apply to Bass Pro?

I could go on, but really no need to.

he must rip the tags out of his whitie tighties as well, would not want fruit of the loom getting any free addy time wen he is paying pipe

Plenty of other places to get the same stuff at a better price. Other than the occasional sale.....there really isn't a more expensive place to buy fishing gear (baits, tackle, etc) than Bass Pro and Cabelas.

I can't believe that someone would pay $9 for a package of Senkos.

Bass pro has killed the selection that Cabelas had and raised all the prices by 30% it seems.

The quality of the gear now seems to rival Academy and Id rather pay Academy prices at Academy than pay Bass Pro prices for the same gear.

The merger has just pushed me into buying online now. Amazon usually has what I want cheaper.

Cabelas brand clothing was great. I hate that BP took them over. Used to shop there at least 2 times a month. Never go anymore.

I pretty much quit going to Cabelas. Every time I went to buy something there, they tried to shove the BPS stuff at me. I finally just walked out on a salesman being pushy with BPS products.

Probably the best thing to happen to tackle warehouse and smaller shops. My friends and I definitely spend less there now that Johnny owns both. Their selection is pretty poor.

Nothing new. Cabelas has sucked for years!

In Waco Cabela's and Academy both suck. Academy was a great place to get fishing stuff until it was sold out to a big corporation, now it's just like Bass Pro and Cabela's. The high profit clothes and shoes is what they want you to buy. A guy at the Waco Academy told me and a friend if he had his way he would only sell gun's and not mess with fishing [censored]. If you want some help good luck on finding someone and most of the time they don't know anything anyway. I get a lot of my baits at Walmart and online in stead for fighting the As****** at Academy. They put in 15 check out stands but most of the time only 2 maybe 3 are open so you must stand in line.

That would get you two 1-0 Wide Gap Worm Hooks and a snap swivel at Bass Pro Prices.

Maybe. Lol. And it would have to be an XPS brand hook.

Total complete ripoff.

I haven't been in either one in a very long time.

^^^ you ain’t missing out.

Seems BP has suffered too. Every time I've been in the GV or Garland stores there are a lot of empty pegs. Wondering if ole' Johnny bit off a bit too much....

I always preferred BPS over Cabellas. Seemed the only thing I could ever afford at Cabellas was in their bargain cave. Cabellas customer service at their Allen store was never good. Guys in the fishing department never wanted to really sit down and help you. They just wanted to hang out behind the counter and chit chat with other employees. At least BPS holds their employees to more accountability in customer service in my opinion. The guys now in Allen have no issue coming out from behind the counter and helping me choose a rod or discussing reel options.

This is why buying on- line has grown so much and will continue to grow-better prices, better selection, free shipping, no sales tax. More and more
of my fishing $ are being spent on-line.

I get what you are saying but I like to put a rod in my hand if I don't already own one of that model. And sometimes with baits I want to see the clor or size myself in order to make a judgement.

I will buy more and more from Tackle Warehouse I suppose. But I will have fewer "experimental" purchases when I can't see it in person before buying.

Oh well.

I try to support local owned shops. Pay a little more than on-line to do it.

If you live around Ft Worth, Try Olsen's Pro Am Fishing Shop in Lake Worth. They don't have a big rod selection, but for the most part they have it all, including the best live bait I've seen anywhere. PLUS 10% Veterans discount.

If I had to guess there are lots of locations that have a Bass Pro and Cabelas and don't need both, and this is the solution.

Cabelas has some big Gar,..and a cool trout pond.

Hot nuts and Power Pro Slick in yellow,...after that I
m ready to go,..

All I know is the guys selling fishing graphs at Bass Pro in Grapevine know a lot more about them after I left than before I got there and that’s not saying a lot.

Went Sunday and there very thin. Been using there credit card and using points. Guess I’ll just go to fun and sun.

Went Sunday and there very thin. Been using there credit card and using points. Guess I’ll just go to fun and sun.

I live in San Antonio, but would often make the drive to Cabelas in Buda. Used to have a lot better selection of gear and more variety. Haven't been since the buyout, but hear not so great things.

It's not as much fun to shop for tackle online, but it is more convenient. I don't like the Cabela's / BPS in Allen anymore either. I use to go just walk around the store and maybe pickup a few things, but I haven't even gone in there in nearly a year now.

Sure hope my current Guide Wear rain gear holds in there a long time. I don't care for the 100MPH stuff.

I don't know why but there just aren't many "smaller shops" around Houston. I live on the NW side of Houston. Marbergers, what I consider to be the last of the Mom and Pop stores, closed down. It was miles from me. BPS decided to build on the west and southwest sides of Houston. There is a Cabelas in the League City area, which is on the southside of Houston. Fishing Tackle Unlimited has three locations; none of which are close to me. Dick's sucks. Academy is a joke. Field and Stream; nowhere around me. I am pretty much forced to buy anything and everything online.

The thing I hate about having to go to the internet for dang near anything extends beyond tackle purchases. When I go to do something, I plan on doing it that day. Now you can't find anything in a store. It has gotten to the point that if I want to change out a light bulb, I have to plan 2 weeks out

It is the same in their hunting department. I went to Cabelas in Fort Worth and there was hardly any hunting clothing. That used to be a big department but not anymore. As far as rifles, they carry a lot of the cheaper Savage rifles, but not any quality like Sako, Winchester unless you want to buy out of their rare and custom rifle section.
The fishing department is worse than Academy. Its a good thing that Midway USA and Tackle Warehouse are doing well. They get all of my business now. Too bad

When BPS opened in Grapevine they used to have some great deals on rods and reels and tackles, Them days are long gone

Marburgers did close? Dang. I loved that store. Stupid road widening.

we probably need to thank johnny morris for cabelas still being in business....and it's probably going to take some time for them to get the inventories back up to normal...keep in mind almost everything they have in stock has to be ordered,manufactored and then brought from overseas......

I'm curious to see how Scheel's opening up affects them.

I'm curious as well. The Scheel's stores I frequent up North are always top notch.

I used to work at Cabelas in Allen. Worked during the merge process and helped redo the fishing department to what it is now... Being a tournament guy, I wouldn’t even shop there. The selection was great until after the merge and the discount didn’t make even make up for the lack of selection... while I was there, most of Megabass was taken away. Rage craws were taken away and sold through what was left. NRX’s quit coming in. Most of the higher end reels were discounted and then taken out of assortment. Some brought back but not all. I won’t go into detail but I will say that internally, the Cabelas in Allen is suffering from the top down. There was a manager for every department and now there are only 3 managers working the whole store. Corporate would always be in wondering why sales were down/credit card applications were down, etc... What got me the most working there was that all day while working, through our microphones they would say “now remember... club card, sales and customer service are our 3 main priorities in that order.” They don’t care for customer service at all... if it weren’t for the credit card, that store would be under...

As far as scheels goes, everyone working there is worried about how it will effect them. Especially in the beginning. If it’s what I think, then I think it will close down Cabelas in Allen in a couple years if not sooner.

They're building a new "Scheel's Sporting Goods" in the Colony. It's a MONSTER store, the biggest I've ever seen.

Guys that know them say they stock the best hunting and fishing equipment and none of the hard rock candy, booger picker metal signs and all that nonsense.


BPS is getting some serious competition.

^^THIS^^ The Scheels stores I have been into on business trips have such a wide variety of offerings, great customer service, and targeted to the regions they are in. Went in one in Grand Forks, ND. Of course the ice fisherman was well represented but the upland, migratory, and big game hunters were well taken care of too. Big selection of firearms across a broad range of price points.

April 2020. Can’t wait. I called the Scheels corporate headquarters last week to ask them some questions and a human being answered the phone
The Grapevine and Allen stores have to be worried.

It would have to be one of the most amazing stores with the most amazing prices on the planet for me to drive to the Colony... Grapevine is at least a bit more centralized. No worry though, the Ft Worth guys have quality tackle shops like APT, Rivera Tackle, and Fun N Sun that carry all of the hard to get products and colors as well as the regular stuff.. head a little farther west and you have Tackle Depot.

bass pro did not ruin your cabelas the internet stores did brick an mortar stores are at a huge disadvantage because they cant stock as many items as they used to because of slow turnover cost of employees an cost of space is what kills most of them getting to a point where folks are not investing their money in stores that don't make any money.

Gotta pay those bpt entry fees.....

Amazing that the internet did not kill the store during all those years before BPS bought them out. Great selection of fishing equipment, customers always in there buying stuff (including me).

Then BPS buys them out, gets rids of a bunch of staff, removes half the fishing inventory and the half that remains, most of it is replaced with BPS branded stuff. Selection and prices suck. Now I don't see many customers in there and I have no reason to darken the doors again.

That internet sure is smart to suddenly start killing the brick and mortar store riiiiiight when BPS makes their changes. Amazing!

The cabelas in Buda sure seems like it went to hell after BPS bought cabelas.

I hear ya. I started using Yum dingers years ago and haven't noticed any difference in the performance.

I like going to Cabelas, I can always find something I dont need.