Bps And High End Rods

[jtesch]

I've noticed in the past few years the the BPS by me ( Chicago SW suburbs) there are two actually, no longer stock or only have a couple higher end rods. On a recent visit they had 10 St Croix Legend Tournys ( and that was a new shipment) nothing above that. A dozen Loomis, mostly GL2's and a couple of mossbacks and bronze backs that have been there for years. Shimano was a dozen Crucials at most and no Cumaras. Daiwa was 7-8 Tatulas and no Zillions or Steez. It's disapointing not to be able to play with the higher end stuff. I've seen the same thing with the local Dicks and a definite scale back on the entire fishing section. Same with Gander mountain, they don't even carry Crucials anymore. What Gives???

[BobP]

I think it's just the nature of the retail beast.  Higher end rods get a lot of abuse while on the rack in a large sporting goods store.

[Darren.]

The only high-end rods I've ever seen at the Hampton, VA

BPS are higher-end Loomis rods.... Don't see many of those

anymore either.

 

I'd agree with BobP, probably too many clumsy hands-on 

demos.

[Logan S]

They probably just don't sell at your store.  Our local one used to have things like LTB's and Cumara's but they never sold.  I remember the same LTB casting rod sitting in that store for well over a year.  I knew it was the same one because the of the placement of the tag on the grip, my buddies and I joked about it all the time.  I eventually bought it when it went on sale for a great price... Felt like buying the Charlie Brown Christmas tree .  

 

Ever since that big sale there's not much above the Avid/Crucial level.  The store does have high end reels, but I doubt they move many of those either.  

[Darren.]

On the other hand, the Hampton BPS is the smallest

Bass Pro Shops in the nation. Might explain not carrying

certain models...

[jtesch]

I'm sure your right guys, I literally just walked out of Dicks and what do I find. A selection of keitech and Jackall plastics and freaking MegaBass lures. WHAAAAT? I just had to buy a Megabass popper for $20. They had Jackall and Megabass plastics that I've only seen at Tackle Warehouse. I'm sure some manager just wanted to see some of the Japenese stuff.

[Poolshark]

The only high end rod I've ever bought off of a retailers shelf ended up breaking soon after I bought it. It was a st croix ltb.I originally thought it was a fluke because I have never had a rod break as I was fishing, ever. But as I processed it I could see people toying around with a high end rod in the store. Pressing the tip on the ground to test it's action, damaging it before it's ever fished with. I would assume just order one from the manufacture if I wanted a nice rod. As to why you probably don't see a lot of them I the shelves, I would think that the nicest rods 250 + probably don't sell very well anyways for most casual fisherman.

[Cgrinder]

The Auburn Hills, MI Bass Pro is lousy for high-end stuff but the Rossford, OH store is sweet. They had lots of St. Croix, Daiwa, and some Megabass rods. 

[Blues19]

The Headquarters in Springfield doesnt carry the high end stuff either.  They have 10-15 Loomis, 10-15 LTB, that is the main stuff.  I feel like they may have 5-10 Megabass rods there... They are not the 400+ though.  I am planning on going this weekend so maybe i can give yall an update if wanted.  But for the most part I feel like the others, the high priced rods would get way too much attention from everyone, which would probably result in more damage to those high priced rods.  but even looking on the BPS website, they dont have the higher end stuff. 

[Arv]

The Headquarters in Springfield doesnt carry the high end stuff either.  They have 10-15 Loomis, 10-15 LTB, that is the main stuff.  I feel like they may have 5-10 Megabass rods there... They are not the 400+ though.  I am planning on going this weekend so maybe i can give yall an update if wanted.  But for the most part I feel like the others, the high priced rods would get way too much attention from everyone, which would probably result in more damage to those high priced rods.  but even looking on the BPS website, they dont have the higher end stuff. 

Yup, I saw a GLX or two in there at one time. I haven't seen them in a long time though. The highest in the Loomis line is probably the Mossyback now. The do have the the hand full of LTB's and Orochi's but thats about it. I haven't been down to the main store in a couple of months though. I usually go next door to the catalouge outlet

[WIGuide]

I think a lot of it is due to the fact that people that buy those high end rods make up a small percentage of the fishing community. Sure it's the norm here, but when you look at fishermen as a whole, a lot of them would just about turn blue in the face even thinking of putting down 2, 3 or even 4 hundred dollars for a rod. You also have the issue of variety. Whether or not you're willing to admit it fishermen, especially bass fishermen are a fickle bunch and the more money we spend on something the more picky we get. We like what we like, we research it and have our hearts set on getting exactly what we've been looking at. We're no different when it comes to rods. Some won't even look at a rod if it has a split grip. Others would rather have those but don't like the reel seats. Some are looking for an exact length and if it's not that one they won't buy it. You guys get the picture. Now think of the overhead it would take to carry all those products. Obviously Bass Pro doesn't pay retail for their products, but even if they pay 1/2 price, that's still a crapload of money you're spending to target a very small percentage of people who visit the store. As others have stated, they're out quite a bit of money if those rods are mishandled as well.  

[Sonik]

WIGuide nailed it. The vast, vast, vast majority of people buy the cheapest thing they can that works, even if they give up a lot of features and quality. It's why people buy the Remington 870 Express shotgun, Hi-Point handguns, $300 KMart computers, and $20 Shakespear combos from Walmart.

The people that buy Megabass rods, Kimber custom shop handguns, and Benelli SBE2 shotguns are few and far between in the grand scheme of who shoots, hunts, and fishes.

That shelf space is worth money. If the product doesn't move, BPS loses money. And I would tell you that a $500 GLoomis moves a lot slower than a $30 BPS combo.

It's also been shown that BPS doesn't like a lot of competition to their house brand. I've seen them carry the Micro Magic Duckett but not the $100 Ghost that's in the same price point as Carbonlite and Johnny Morris rods. Though, that has little to do with why they don't carry high end rods, I don't think.

[curtis9]

I would guess most people wouldn't buy high end rods from bps, since they can likely get a better deal from another online retailer.

[*Hootie]

Having worked at BPS, I know that they have all but stopped stocking high end rods. Like someone said, a few GL2's. Customers are rough on rods in the store. I would cringe when I would watch small children play with a GLX rod while Daddy was looking for a bag of worms. The stories I could tell you...whew!

Hootie

[ColdSVT]

I'm sure your right guys, I literally just walked out of Dicks and what do I find. A selection of keitech and Jackall plastics and freaking MegaBass lures. WHAAAAT? I just had to buy a Megabass popper for $20. They had Jackall and Megabass plastics that I've only seen at Tackle Warehouse. I'm sure some manager just wanted to see some of the Japenese stuff.

The DSG near me carries megabass, kietech, damike and jackall as well...it hurt my wallet bad too lol

[smalljaw67]

Cabelas has a big store near me, they have such a messed up selection of rods it isn't even funny but they have all of their own brand rods. Anyway, WIGuide hit it pretty much square, I talked to the manager as to why there wasn't very many rods and he said the store is stocked according to demographic, they will have around 10 models that are over $200 but the majority are under that amount because they just don't sell. There was an article in an In-Fisherman magazine I think, it might have been a different one too but I remember it having a bunch of stats and that it was less than 5% of anglers spend more than $50 per rod and it was less than 3% that paid more than $100 and fewer than 1% paid over $300 for a rod and it was almost identical for reels. We here consider $100 for a reel entry level, a lot of my friends who don't fish think that is insanely expensive. I think a $200 smart phone is ridiculous too but I'm not into that so it doesn't matter to me if I can geo tag or not with a phone. I also saw a little tid bit somewhere about Shakespear selling more rods in a Month and G.Loomis does in 2 years, but remember, this is a niche market and even among serious anglers it is a niche market. The last jackpot tournament I fished last year I only saw 1 NRX rod out of 40 boats and I have yet to see any Megabass but I saw a ton of Skeet Reese rods, Vendettas and Veritas rods, and I was the only guy that had a Fenwick Aetos but  that is just popularity, not price.

[Sonik]

I think with your run of the mill club tournaments and lower end trails, the majority of tackle falls into the $100 price point. The competition amongst manufacturers at that price point is so high that it has some extremely nice quality equipment for the weekend warrior.

I think you hit the peak of a bell curve in terms of quality per dollar at the $100 price point. Before that and you can get more for your money. Beyond it and you enter a state of diminishing returns.

[jignfule]

Simple, "supply and demand" The demand must not be there.

[jtesch]

I agree with all the statements and will add that I'm sure the "house" brands that they all carry are the true money makers. I fought I would by a high end rod at one of the stores but it really sucks not being able to go feel a rod before making an order. There is almost nowhere in the Chicago area that carries a selection of "the good stuff". That fact has stopped me from ordering Powell, Dobyns and Kistler rods unless they are on clearance at TW. I just can't bring myself to lay out $250-$300 for a rod I have not held. I did it once with a Legend Tourny and regretted it. Not that it was a bad rod, It just wasn't what I thought it would be and I had 2 very similar rods. Even my local tackle shop no longer stocks many decent rods and he always did. Now it's "happy to order it for you".

[Sonik]

I bought 4 *** Blacks like that and didn't like them. I know they're excellent rods for the money but the short handle and reel seat style doesn't work for me.

[Scott F]

I agree with all the statements and will add that I'm sure the "house" brands that they all carry are the true money makers. I fought I would by a high end rod at one of the stores but it really sucks not being able to go feel a rod before making an order. There is almost nowhere in the Chicago area that carries a selection of "the good stuff". That fact has stopped me from ordering Powell, Dobyns and Kistler rods unless they are on clearance at TW. I just can't bring myself to lay out $250-$300 for a rod I have not held. I did it once with a Legend Tourny and regretted it. Not that it was a bad rod, It just wasn't what I thought it would be and I had 2 very similar rods. Even my local tackle shop no longer stocks many decent rods and he always did. Now it's "happy to order it for you".

Take a ride to Bedford Sales in Morris. They stock some of the stuff you might be looking for.

[jtesch]

Take a ride to Bedford Sales in Morris. They stock some of the stuff you might be looking for.

Good idea, haven't been there in a few years 

[EmersonFish]

I agree with all the statements and will add that I'm sure the "house" brands that they all carry are the true money makers. I fought I would by a high end rod at one of the stores but it really sucks not being able to go feel a rod before making an order. There is almost nowhere in the Chicago area that carries a selection of "the good stuff". That fact has stopped me from ordering Powell, Dobyns and Kistler rods unless they are on clearance at TW. I just can't bring myself to lay out $250-$300 for a rod I have not held. I did it once with a Legend Tourny and regretted it. Not that it was a bad rod, It just wasn't what I thought it would be and I had 2 very similar rods. Even my local tackle shop no longer stocks many decent rods and he always did. Now it's "happy to order it for you".

This is the bummer. I won't buy a rod I haven't handled anymore. I would be so stoked if there was an icast like event near me I could go to to get my hands on all the latest stuff at once.

[SirSnookalot]

Most stores stock items that have the most popularity with their customer base, the emphasis is on mark up.  I can walk into stores like Lott Bros or Tuppens here in South Florida and buy as assortment of expensive rods.  I do know many of the serious fishermen down here go custom instead.