New Bass Pro Shop opens today

You guys are both right, elnutsmalljaws & TI. As a small business owner we just have to do our very best and it will come around. By no means are we at Plapp's Perfect, but I teach our employees to treat everyone like you would want to be treated and we only hire people who I feel can truly help our cusomters and not just fill in for someone else. The big guys will keep growing until Wall Street tells them no too and then they'll cut back. At the same time you have to look at companies like Bass Pro and Wallmart and marvel how a few people started a company 20-40 years ago with a small idea and watched it BOOM. From my standpoint I love that type of stuff and enjoy seeing examples like these companies all the time.

But with that said, it's every small business owners job to adjust their product mix and service to survive. And like guys said, hard core bass fisherman will visit the small custom tackle stores first and hopefully more frequently.

Matt

It seems to me that some people forget when Johnny Morris and Sam Walton and others were smaller than Plapps is now. Maybe in fifty years Plapps will be the big dog on the block. Don't you guys remember what "Free Enterprise" is all about?? My business never grew to run with the big boys but you can bet your backside that that was my goal. Some of us achieve the "American Dream" and others just stand around and nip at their heals. For one I love BPS and always have. I have never found anything but very helpful clerks. The guys at the reel counters especially are helpful. My grandmother had a saying, 'If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all'. And if a grown man can't get around a pushy guy trying to sell a weekend get-a-way then so sad. Its called just walking away. Ooops, I've violated Grandma's saying........nuff said.

Dave,

Thanks for the info, I plan on fishing Kentucky Lake this next season. Bought a map and never went last season, every time I brought it up, nobody wanted to go.

I found a great lake up in Wisconsin to fish, and ended up going there all 3 vacations I had last season. Got hooked on smallmouth up there.

I did ok on crankbaits this year, just seems like the plastics are what I do best. Probably just a confidence thing. I do pretty well with spinnerbaits too. They are my favorite baits because many times I can see the strike as it happens, you get that extra adrenaline going when you see the strike a split second before you feel it.

I want to fish Guntersville, Pickwick, and Kentucky Lake all next season.

I know what you mean about having a lot of water to cover, I was studying maps of Kentucky Lake and Guntersville last spring planning a trip and it is intimidating trying to figure out where to begin. Big water on a map, even bigger when you get to that ramp and look out and take it in.

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-27-05 AT 00:08AM (EST)[/font][p]If you read a little farther, you'll see I said exactly what you said as far as the "American Dream" idea. I don't disagree with you at all on that part of the equation. It's a great country where a mom and pop can grow into a gigantic company.

But that doesn't make everything the big guys do right. Trust me, it's been hard to pass on my thoughts, ideas and theries to our employees as we've grown from 3 to 30 in the last 3 1/2 years, imagine how out of wack that would get in 50 years and 30,000 people.

Matt

Mike,i've never seen or dealt with any timeshare salesmen at a BPS outdoor world anywhere and i've been to 4 different locations.In your situation i would have been a little frustrated also but i wouldn't let that stop me from going back to the store,i'd simply blow the person off and go about my business next time.Awesome stores and apparently i'm not the only guy that feels this way or they wouldn't keep opening them.There is a new one opening this coming monday,november 28th just east of knoxville tennessee and only 5 miles from douglass lake,i'll be there next month to fish and can't wait to check out that new store.

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-27-05 AT 11:48AM (EST)[/font][p]Well I like to try to support the small mom and pop stores. Everystore starts out small and those that have great effeciency and logistics will become the bigger stores. I use to have a large K mart store within 4 miles but they closed down due to Walmart competition. Now an Ace Hardware store had located in the old K-mart location. I go to this new ace store to buy stuff and support it simpley because it's closer to me than the two Walmarts. With the price of gasoline this summer it paid to shop closer to home even though Ace was higher in price than Walmart on most items. Also time is money so closer saves me time when I am working on a project.

While it's great to want to grow the store as a businessman and that is what America is all about we still need competition for the consumers. If you let one store monopolize the business then the consumers will be hurt. What happens when the small stores shut down and there is only one big store left? Price's will skyrocket. Don't think so? Just look at the price of Diamonds and the DeBeer's story. Until recently DeBeer's had a monolopy on production of diamonds and withheld diamonds from the market to force prices high. It can happen with any comodody if you don't enforce antimonololy laws. Think of Steel and other necessities and the story repeats itself over the centuries. For the market to work you must have competion. Competition makes for better stores as well. When Banks Compete you win!

OT_______________________



Hey Topwater:
Are you aware of Pat Hahs's [url]www.kentuckyhydrografx.com[/url] web site and his topo maps of Kentucky Lake? I think I got that web site correct. I'll double check it. Pat uses his gps and his depth finder and laptop along with autocad software of somekind to make highly detailed topo maps of some areas of KY lake.

I got a new scanner last month and yesterday I went out to my mom's house on the other side of town and got some of dad's old picture. Color Slides. My new scanner allows me to scan 2" x 2" color slides four or five at a time and also to scan color NEGATIVE. So last night I spend about 4 hours scannning some of dad's Kentucky Lake Fishing Pictures. These pictures were taken back in the 1950's. Man KY Lake sure has changed over the last 50 years. Lots of the wood and stumps are not there anymore. Event the sky looks different these days. Back then the sky was very blue. I wish I could post some of these pictures on here. Some of the catches consisted of limites of 3lb bass with an occasional 6lber or 8lber thrown in. Looking at those photos on my computer last night got me ready to go back to KY lake and start fishing. These pictures were taken in Oct which was my dad's favorite time to fish KY lake.

I was reading an article in this month's issue of In-Fishermen. They were talking about two things. Global Warming having a GOOD impace on Smallmouth bass in Northern North America. And then one article talked about water clarity being better due to ZEBRA Mussles. That got me to thinking about the Kentucy DNR Crappie Study that was conducted last year or so. The study was trying to find out if the black crappie populations were actually increasing in KY lake. They tagged some crappie and tracked them for a few months over the spring and summer with transmitters that were implanted into the crappie.

But I started to think that if the black crappie populations were increasing maybe it's due to better water quality ie less turbidity or clearer water. I wondered then if there are any ZEBRA Mussels in KY lake? Surely there must be some in there as they seem to have taken over North American in the last 5 to 10 years. I read that Zebra Mussles filter the water and take out a lot of the particles making the water much cleaner. I have also read that Black Crappie Seem to prefer clear water more than white crappie. So I wonder if the zebra mussles are effecting the fish population on KY lake?

I also read that small mouht bass populations have increased on KY lake over the last 50 years. While I can't know for sure as I don't get to fish the lake that much I wish I had been fishing the lake more. I would have loved to know the changes going on down there. I read that at times the lake has weeds which I never saw back when I fished the lake in the 1960's and 70's. I stopped fishing KY lake around 1983 and started fishing Patoka Lake since it was closer. But Patoka is no KY lake.

Regards,

Moose1am

just a quick question for matt. i am looking for a new depth finder. how do you compare on prices to bass pro

Viper201, the store I was in at the time of the sales pitch was in St. Louis, MO. I agree that the BPS stores have a lot of great stuff and I'm sure my outdoor gadget addiction will find me in them again. But I was put oof with the come-on I was hit with that day. I have shopped at Cablea's stores for years and never pass one up while treaveling; and have never been approached like that in one of them. I do like shoppinhg in the outdoor superstores, even if my budget always leaves me wanting more than I can afford.

Mike, you should have countered his sales pitch, by trying to sell him on a time share at West Boggs.

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Nov-28-05 AT 01:34PM (EST)[/font][p]LOL. I'll remember that next time. I suppose SOMEONE must buy from those sales pitches, or they would not keep doing them; but I don't know anyone personally who will admit to it. Maybe my lack of understanding on that type of sales is why I never seem to have enough money when I'm out shopping, do ya think? I have began using a new trick on the telemarketers who try to raise funds for the charities, like my persoanl nemisis the Indiana State Police Alliance. They call about once a week, and it is always a new person who can't answer any questions about the Indiana State Police. I have started telling them that I will give them a donation of $50, but they have to come and pick it up. If they can get an ISP car to come to my house, I'll write them a check. So far no one has showed up. I think I'll up my contribution offer to $100 since it is Christmas time.

Mike,

I believe all their stores have this going on. I had seen the same thing in Cincinnati and Charlotte stores.

Its still better to put up with that, than to go the the Gander Mountain in Terre Haute. I like the Gander Mountain in Indy, so was excited to hear they were putting one in Terre Haute.

The fishing department is the most pathetic excuse for a tackle shop of that size, you almost can't believe it. Real short on Rattle Trap selection, Yozuri selection is small with most baits big enough to go great white shark fishing with. It looks like they fitted the store with baits that didn't sell anywhere else.

The only good selection is Rapala's and Bandit, and Yum plastics. Zoom plastics area is small, and not much selection. It is a major let down. I even tried to talk to the manager and asked him just set it up like the Indy store, and he didn't want to change a thing.

I will save my money and go to BassPro or just order it online and pay the shipping, with gas being what it is.

topwater