What's the state of tackle inventory?

[fin]

I've been trying to get by just using stuff that I have on hand, and I haven't been shopping very much. Today I finally went in an Academy, and I was a little surprised to see the shelves were still pretty bare. Some things were getting restocked, but some areas, like terminal tackle, seem like they just can't keep most things in stock. It was the same at the local Walmart. The nearby mom & pop looks like it has closed the doors for good.

 

Parts of Walmart look totally normal. What is it about the fishing supplies that is so different?

 

I guess some stores are struggling so bad that maybe they can't afford to stock the shelves? Is the stuff  just still not available? It seems like if they have to pay to keep the store open, they would want to get as much sales as possible. I guess maybe they might just be trying to keep expenses at a minimum, but I don't know what they're waiting for. Recovery is obviously going to be gradual.

 

I just have a hard time making sense of it all.

 

Is it still hard to find stuff online too?

 

I haven't been around here much lately either. I don't see any recent posts that look like they cover this topic. I know there were some last year.

[padon]

inventory is poor. even on the internet. cant get my hands on a new depthfinder. deep diving cranks even some plastics. when i se something i use alot i buy it even when i dont need it

[jbsoonerfan]

I always thought I had way too much stuff. When I read posts like this it makes me glad to know I don't have to worry about it.

[MN Fisher]

I stopped into Fleet-Farm last week for some crappie lures - they had full shelves/racks, lots of rods, reels, sonar units, etc.

 

I think it's a location-by-location thing - they carry lots of Rapala and VMC products...and Rapala corp is headquartered here.

[garroyo130]

Academy had a hell of a sale last week or two weeks ago one or the other ... that might have something to do with it. 

[Brgoff007]

Most Fleet Farms and even the Cabela's here in Minnesota seem to really have no problem with lure stocking.  

[GetFishorDieTryin]

Things have gotten much better since last spring and summer 

[HaydenS]

My Cabelas has everything.... Except my freaking War Eagle Finesse jigs.  I've been out for 6 months+!!!

[AManWearingAHat]

Things are better than they were but some popular rods and reels can still be hard to find. Tackle warehouse has got some items on long restock dates. If you look hard enough though you can find just about anything you need. I revamped my tackle and rods in a big way over the winter and didn't have much trouble finding what I needed if I was willing to wait. Only ended up on ebay for one or two rods.

[GReb]

Went to Bass Pro tonight to pick up a few last minute things like a spool of Invisx, Mustad grip pin hooks, and a pack of Zakos. They were out of stock of them all. 

[Bluebasser86]

I went to Academy this morning and they had pretty much everything. They even had some JJ's Magic, which I forgot to grab ?

[padon]

i must be looking for different stuff than some of you. ive had a humminbird 10 inch di gen 4 ordered for a month. cant find berkley dredgers in 20.5 in any good colors. norman dd22 no go.berkley flat worm nada.

[galyonj]

The tackle situation is so good here that I make sure to tell anybody local that's asking that I caught the fish on a lure I don't like and won't buy so that maybe they'll buy that lure instead of what I wanna buy.

 

[Deleted account]

11 hours ago, fin said:

What's the state of tackle inventory?

Used to be Oklahoma, now it's Maryland....  

[gim]

10 hours ago, Brgoff007 said:

Most Fleet Farms and even the Cabela's here in Minnesota seem to really have no problem with lure stocking.  

Last year that was definitely not the case though.  I can confirm it.  I shop at those two places regularly too.

 

I've been in a DSG, Fleet Farm, and a Cabela's since February and they were all loaded up with inventory.  I haven't been there since mid March now though so I can't tell you what has happened in the past 30 days.  I am going to predict there will be similar situation play out at those retail locations this year when supply can't keep up with demand.

 

I don't expect to buy any tackle for quite a while now because I loaded up all winter.  Last year I had to resort to buying stuff online (which I don't care for, and never really had to do in 20+ years here) because of the shortage.  I hope to avoid that this year.

[Fishes in trees]

My current state of tackle inventory is unsorted and not really ready to go fishing yet.

[CrankFate]

18 hours ago, jbsoonerfan said:

I always thought I had way too much stuff. When I read posts like this it makes me glad to know I don't have to worry about it.

Yeah, well I have one of those plastic tubs (which I found out my wife bought when I couldnt find my stuff to take inventory of what I need) the ones with the lid that people put under the bed that’s like 4ft x 2ft x 4 or 5in and it is full of stuff. Most still unopened. Because I was too busy to fish last season. So I don’t expect to buy much more. Since I won’t be buying much this season, because of the people on this website causing me to already buy more stuff than I could use in one season, I ordered 2 Megabass 110’s, instead.

[AManWearingAHat]

Loaded up over the winter to hopefully avoid the spring / summer rush as people start migrating outdoors again.

[Munkin]

My personal inventory = S**t everywhere!

 

What I do fish right now is organized and ready to go. 

 

Spinnerbait making operations are a disaster right now as I left most of my skirt material outside and it has been raining. Wife put her Jeep hard top right in front of my painting area as well. 

 

Allen 

[MAN]

2020 was one of the best years the tackle industry has had in recent history .  Domestic inventory depleted quickly and China couldn't fulfill fast enough.  China is still trying to play catch up but its not as bad as it was and for the most parts has leveled back out.  The fishing industry gained a ton of new anglers though the covid ordeal..and compile that with the stimulus checks sent out could be why your seeing this secondary depletion in some areas.  

[fin]

So based on the variety of responses, it sounds like the problem here may not be due to manufacturing. It sounds more likely that the problem is distribution and/or decisions made by certain vendors to not buy tackle to stock, for whatever reason.

 

I can’t blame the vendors, and I’m not saying they are making the wrong decision, but I hope they are not making a mistake that will end up removing another option from my short list of places to buy tackle locally.

[N Florida Mike]

I mainly shop at Academy, and they have been understocked lately.  The best wal mart near me for fishing stuff has been the same, even though they have a knowledgeable bass fisherman running the sporting goods dept. He’s telling me people are just buying everything up...

[Rpratt]

The biggest problem for me is trying to find rods. When you goto Bass Pro and they tell you at the START of their Spring Classic that it may be 3 months before they actually get the rods they just put on sale you have issues. 

 

I have looked for several crankbait specific rods all over the internet. All out of stock.

 

What you have to remember that right now anchored out and in Los Angeles is over 800,000 cargo containers waiting that is shipped by rail all across the country. They have been held up for months. I guarantee at least a few of those has alot of the things we are waiting for delivery. And I know more and more are on the way. It's gonna take awhile to clear that log jam though.

 

 

[Johnbt]

"containers"

 

Must be where my 3 12" trailer wheel/radial tire combos are that I ordered 12/2. Good thing I have another year left on what I driving. Every 3 weeks or so they push the due date out another month.

 

I want M rated 81 mph tires and not the usual unmarked High Speed 65 mph tires everybody sells.

[Deleted account]

On 4/14/2021 at 4:33 PM, Munkin said:

My personal inventory = S**t everywhere!

Oh good, so it's not just me.....