BigBendFishing.Net

went in there today before my spur of the moment trip to piney z. i wanted a couple poppers to throw around in the overcast weather, and didnt find anything but a couple of cheap-o combo's and some protective sleeves...they also advertised their yeti 45qt coolers in their flyer for $299.99. everywhere else i checked had them for the same price. WTH???

i know, i know. im late with the "academy complaints," but i needed to vent.

rant over.

Academy isn't much more than Sports Authority when it comes to fishing tackle. Pretty low end, generic stuff that someone buys in the corporate office that knows little about each local market. While I am no great fan of Kevin's, they still are the best tackle shop in Tally unless one wants some very inexpensive gear for the kids, for example. This isn't a bash of Academy, just my assessment of their business model.
EJ

mbweimar wrote:went in there today before my spur of the moment trip to piney z. i wanted a couple poppers to throw around in the overcast weather, and didnt find anything but a couple of cheap-o combo's and some protective sleeves...they also advertised their yeti 45qt coolers in their flyer for $299.99. everywhere else i checked had them for the same price. WTH???

i know, i know. im late with the "academy complaints," but i needed to vent.

rant over.

I see you mentioned the yeti coolers in the post. Not sure if you or someone you know wants one but there is somebody on Craigslist that had a new 125 qt. for $425 or best offer. Said they won @ raffel in Carrabell. I have the 65 qt. and it is plenty big and HEAVY enough for my needs. I have been in Academy twice, once in Jax and once in Tall. It is not for me. I'll stick with Kevins and South Ga. any day of the week.

its on my wish list, but i think im going to wait until i have a bigger boat. thats a heck of a deal, but 125 qts is just too much.

Most-to-all big box stores are the same. The stores have NO control over the inventory they receive, as it is their regional/district offices that pull inventory and send it their way. One of the main reasons why Outdoor World closed and so many of the "fishing department" employees left so quickly. Every one of them I talked to were pissed because 80% of their stock was freshwater, when almost every "request for gear and tackle" was for saltwater products, and no matter how many times they asked their managers and regional reps, they never received anything they needed.


Forget the Big-Box stores. Shop local.

i haven't been to the new one in tally or valdosta personally but i've in the one in gulfport, MS on the way over to Delacroix, LA earlier this year and IMO it had more tackle than i have ever been for Saltwater. probably because of the location I'm sure but was still surprised from the amount of tackle with it being Academy!