i think a lot of them held on because of strong gun sales, at least the one i used to live by in Mooresville, NC. I believe it was or is still one of the largest, if not the largest, gun shop in NC.
the fishing assortment there was horrible to say the least. right next to the largest lake in the entire state and they had just as much, if not more inventory in saltwater gear than they did freshwater. and for anyone curious, it's about a 4 hour car ride to the nearest saltwater from there....