Which Outdoor Store? 2025
90x reply :
I am a bass pro guy born and raised. It is my go to store and has awesome baits and equipment. Love the store layout and the aquarium, however when going to Gurnee we usually make a day out of the trip in the mall because it takes forever to get there! In the same direction about a half hour shorter is Cabelas! 20 minutes from me is Dicks sporing Goods!
I personally do not like DSG very much as it is way over priced and never has the gear that I am looking for. Cabelas is a shorter distance yet I have never been there. However, looking online and on catalogs as well as fiends who are customers, I have seen that the prices are more than at any other store. Bass pro is my all time favorite store but the time it takes to get there (depending on traffic) is ridiculous 
Which store do you recommend for the best gear and the best value?
(Forgot to mention walmart. They only have limited amount of baits and is only a place I run into to get terminal tackle and the occasional jig. Also, I usually go through alot of bait. ;D
swilly78 reply :
Dude, jump on I55 south and head to the bolingbrook store. I prefer that store over Gurnee, I think there is better customer service. Otherwise, Im with you, BPS over cabellas, but I do like Gander also.
Infidel. reply :
I don't have a single "go to" store for my fishing tackle needs. Bass pro has a lot of stuff but not my favorite by any means. I really don't care for their brand of stuff and I think that that space should be filled with "real" tackle. For me it is a combination of handful of big stores, local shops, and two online stores.
skillet reply :
Went to Dick's once or twice and wasn't that impressed with it. Wal-Mart is pretty limited in what they have. There isn't a Cabela's anywhere close so it's BPS by default. Actually the BPS in Memphis is their smallest store...
skillet
Quitlimpin reply :
Tackle Warehouse
Danny1991 reply :
I also love BPS but ours is about 1 1/2hrs away so don't go to often, usually about 4-5 times a year. But I do order online from em as well as Tackle Warehouse. I also like Walmart for the basic things like trick worms, horny toads, some jigs, fat free shads and such. And once in a blue moon I'll head over to Academy, not my favorite store but have found some deals on plastics there before!
dinkman reply :
QuoteWent to Dick's once or twice and wasn't that impressed with it. Wal-Mart is pretty limited in what they have. There isn't a Cabela's anywhere close so it's BPS by default. Actually the BPS in Memphis is their smallest store...skillet
must be a tossup between the memphis store and the savannah store. the one in savannah used to be a Belk in the mall and is now the BPS- very small but it's the best thing around besides the internet.
grimlin reply :
Since Walmart changed everything up they suck now around here.They have absolutely nothing.
Dick's has great sales on their baits when you can catch them.I tend to go there for baits and baits only.
Gander mountains has everything,but you will be paying full retail for most stuff.Only thing i buy from them mostly is hooks,they have my owner hooks in stock.
Bass pro is just too far for me this year and to be honest everything is full retail and way to expensive.
Cabela's,I got mad at the store last time because they had absolutely nothing for bass fishing and is directed more at the walleye fishermen.This was in the fall last year,so i only visit them in the spring when bass season here starts(this year i didn't).Even then,expect to pay full retail for the stuff there too.
I MISS SPORTSMAN WAREHOUSE! Since they closed them up....nobody has came close to their stuff and prices. I was so mad making a 30 minute trip only to find a vacant building.
90x reply :
a couple months back i went to bass pro. They had 20 percent of zoom. I completely pigged out ( my favorite baits). Other than that I think that most stores have relatively the same gear for the same price. Think I went to meijer in some nowhere town in Michigan. It was like bass pro shop but the prices were incredibly low. booyah, strike king jigs for like a dollar. Soft plastics 2.00 a pack. 25 ewg hooks any size $4. Amazing.
grimlin reply :
Quotea couple months back i went to bass pro. They had 20 percent of zoom. I completely pigged out ( my favorite baits). Other than that I think that most stores have relatively the same gear for the same price. Think I went to meijer in some nowhere town in Michigan. It was like bass pro shop but the prices were incredibly low. booyah, strike king jigs for like a dollar. Soft plastics 2.00 a pack. 25 ewg hooks any size $4. Amazing.
I forgot meijers ;D.....They are actually better than Walmarts around here too.If you hit that store at the right time you can pick Rapala's and bomber lures for next to nothing.Problem is somebody always beats me to the sales.Clearing those racks out of every single bait.
Daniel My Brother reply :
Tough to beat the little mom and pop shops. We have one in town and it's well stocked. They do rod repair, take special orders, and carry a nice selection.
Expect to pay full retail, but it's worth it to deal with people who like to fish as much as I do.
90x reply :
QuoteTough to beat the little mom and pop shops. We have one in town and it's well stocked. They do rod repair, take special orders, and carry a nice selection.Expect to pay full retail, but it's worth it to deal with people who like to fish as much as I do.
as much as as I would like to, I live in a pretty fish less area. I live on the border between Chicago and skokie. When I fish in skokie there is only one store. They are overpriced and don't seem to know that much. I wouldn't call them bucket heads, but they certainly do not know that much about artificials. Much of the areas I fish, people tend to use live bait. Artificials take more time and effort to work. Therefore not many shops sell the baits I want.
When I do go to into Chicago, again the area is dominated by inexperienced shore fisherman who have no idea what the hell they are doing. I haven't fished down there much. Most of the tackle shops lack the experience. I hate to contribute to the ridiculous prices of commercial stores, but they got what i need and know what they are taking about.
SirSnookalot reply :
Dicks has a better selection than BPS for my type of fishing and it's 20 miles vs 40 for BPS. For some of you Floridians BPS will be building a new store in West Palm, Okeechobee at Australian.
looking4structure reply :
BPS for me.The selection is awesome
fishfordollars reply :
BPS for me. We have one 20 minutes from the house and 40 minutes away. I buy some stuff from Academy, but lately (Since they push the H2O line) they have cut back on their selection.
Our Walmarts have very little.
Cabelas is just not a good choice due to pricing, but we have several within 20 miles.
No Dicks here, but visited one in Arlington and they were very limited on fishing supplies. Very disapointed as I had heard lots of good things about them.
MALTESE FALCON reply :
For me, it's BPS.(35 miles) I have a Gander Mountain 10 miles from my house, but they are horrible. They used to be a great store, but they down sized the fishing dept., and they're staff is clueless about fishing. I have a Cabela's, but it's over 2 hours away.
Even though I live on the lake, there is only one tackle shop in the area. The owner caters to the live bait fishermen, which is strange, because he's a tournament fisherman. The Meijer's has a better tackle selection............wierd.
Falcon
Grey Wolf reply :
BPS for fishing.
Cabalas for camping /hunting.
Dicks------joke.
Wally World-----bigger joke.
skillet reply :
DMB mentioned "mom and pop" bait shops. When I was young (loooooong time ago) fishing with my Father, there were lots of them. I liked going to them almost as much as the fishing. The folks that ran them seemed to always know what they were talking about and the characters hanging around were worth paying retail price ;D. They seem to be far and few in between now ...
skillet
SWH reply :
Here on the Eastern Shore of Maryland the only options i have are Wal-Mart, Gander, Dick Sporting Goods and an auto parts store that sells lures (yes i said auto parts and fishing lures!1! ;D) Obviously Gander out of all of those takes the cake and although Dicks has a better selection then wal mart their prices are just crazy!My top choice is BPS but seeing that the only one i know of is back near where i grew up in Hanover, Maryland (3 hours away) its Gander and Wal mart unless im back home.
Kamiahkid reply :
1. Tackle Warehouse
2. BPS
3. Cabela's
In that order...
cyph3r reply :
around nw suburbs, there is lee's bait and tackle and angler's international to name 2. in chicago, henry's is a bait and tackle shop. just naming a few that u might want to check out.
BobP reply :
Hey, if the store is 10 miles away, the cost of driving is around $9 (U.S. average including gas, insurance, depreciation, etc). BPS is 90 miles away so it's an all-day sucker and costs more than $80 to drive it. That $80 will buy a lot of fishing tackle, or the shipping & handling on about 10 orders from web based stores. It's a no brainer if you are a guy who knows what he wants and doesn't feel like he must fondle the tackle before he buys it. The only store I drive to is a Mom&Pop shop that carries custom made baits that you will never see anywhere else.
bilgerat reply :
Around here it's mostly Dick's and Sports Authority. Dick's is the better choice of the two and even then it depends on which one you go to.
Mom and pop stores come and go around here. Mostly cater to the bait guys and are out of business within a year... :-/
endless reply :
i hit them all up around here. bps, gander mountain, dicks, walmart, local bait shops. now i never paid any attention to sports authority.we're and kindof lucky cause bps, gander mountain, green top and walmart are all within ten minutes of each other. and i want to say theres dicks maybe 15 minutes from them
90x reply :
I'm kinda like the guy who has to have the name brand stuff. I was looking into making my own baits, but I kinda got intimidated. I will be sure to look around more at the local shops. Thanks for the advice.
Jeff H reply :
My favorite is a local independant, Capra's Sporting Goods. Best in the area for my needs. Another, Thorne Bros, is also excellent. Otherwise I like Cabelas and have one right on the way home from work I visit regularly. No BPS around here and until there is, won't buy from them.
infamous512 reply :
1. Cabela's
2. Academy sports & outdoors (if it counts lol)
3. Dick's Sporting Goods (crazy price)
4. BPS (since 2 hrs away)
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