Academy h20 lures discontinued?

[BlakeMolone]

Stopped by the replace some ultimate jerkshads and discovered that academy had every h20 product on clearance and basically nothing was left. I called the other stores around me and it seems like they are all getting rid of them, that five dollar h20 jerkbait has been my single most productive lure this year so I really hope they bring something similar back. Anyone know what’s going on? I’m surprised I’m the first one to make a post about it here.

Also if anyone wants a bunch of decent cranks for 2 bucks I would drop into academy now and see if anything is left, I’m sick I missed it by a day or so.

[NavyToad]

4 of 8 colors available online. Give them a call.

 

[lynxcat]

I saw the same thing in my Academy last week. Looked like they were trying to run down all of the inventory to open up the space. 

[ChrisD46]

Sad if if Academy gets rid of the H2O lure line up ! Good lipless , crank and top water offerings.

[Deleted account]

Academy runs clearance sales in the "off season" every year, the sky is not falling...

[BlakeMolone]

2 hours ago, Deleted account said:

Academy runs clearance sales in the "off season" every year, the sky is not falling...

They get rid of every last h20 product every year? I’ve never noticed that, I bought the h20 jerkbaits all winter last year.

[Spankey]

The lure lines of Bomber, Bandits, Rebel and other has been shrinking for years. Not surprised by your situation. I guess those H2O’s are Academy’s specific?

[Jrob78]

3 hours ago, Deleted account said:

Academy runs clearance sales in the "off season" every year, the sky is not falling...

This is true. I've seen all the H20's on clearance more than once. They are pretty popular and I can't imagine they are going anywhere.

[Drawdown]

Several weeks ago I bought quite a few lipless cranks for just over $2.00 apiece, and some shallow divers besides.

 

Sadly, the topwater selection by the time I got there was limited to whopper-ploppers. The H2O buzzbaits (unless I’m misremembering and they were another brand) weren’t really discounted.

4 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

Sad if if Academy gets rid of the H2O lure line up ! Good lipless , crak and top water offerings .

I’d bet they’re doing a package re-design and therefore liquidating all current stock.

[Bluebasser86]

The Academy here sold off nearly all their baits and then brought them all back in the late winter/early spring last year. They hadn't carried the jerkbait for awhile and brought it back once they brought all the other baits back. 

[fin]

19 hours ago, BlakeMolone said:

I’m sick I missed it by a day or so.

 

I mentioned it in "The Latest Sale Thread" back on August 16th.

 

3 hours ago, Drawdown said:

I’d bet they’re doing a package re-design and therefore liquidating all current stock.

 

Yeah, this is what I'm hoping for. It's a strong possibility. My biggest fear is that they lost their manufacturer. Anything is possible these days. They do clearance sales almost every year around this time, but this is a little different.

[garroyo130]

Yeah, not sure they would be in a rush to clear out shelves unless they have something to restock them with so I'm sure theres something in the pipeline. 

[fishinbub]

Probably a repackage and possibly changing up some of the baits or colors offered. It's been a year or two since they've done that.

 

With that being said, it's not entirely outside the realm of possibility. Historically the import game has been absolutely dominated by people that can move the most quantity, but things are starting to shift toward more retailers (esp online) but less product being moved by each one. There's a gazillion people selling Chinese hardbaits (and reels, line, and pretty much everything else that Academy sells under the H20 label) online now at low prices. Better quality than the H20 baits? Not really, but H20 was pretty much the only decent option at that price point for years. Not so anymore

 

Academy makes way more money selling clothes to your wife while you shop than they do selling you H20 baits. It's not even outside the realm of possibility that they're going to slim down the bait selection and stick with products that sell the best vs. having a broad selection. That seems to have been the trend with them lately anyways

[Aaron_H]

They clearance out a lot of their baits every year, but some do get discontinued during this, like that 5" glide bait they used to sell. I can't see that jerkbait getting discontinued, it is absolutely one of their best offerings. I'll definitely be stopping by and buying a handful at those prices if they have the color I want.

[FrnkNsteen]

Happened to stop by our Academy this afternoon and they are all gone there too. The whole H20 aisle has been cleared and restocked with huntung supplies. Most of the aisles of name brand plastics and hardbaits are pretty bare too.

[MAN]

Its because you will see H20X in its place soon.  

[Log Catcher]

We had our first Academy store in town open up today. The official grand opening is to be this Friday. I went out there this morning to check them out. The had a pretty good selection of H2O baits. I bought one in a bluegill color and a pack of Zoom Z Craw Jr.

[Sam]

H2O are excellent crankbaits.

Have not seen or read anything about them giving up on the H2O line.

If they do make the change, it will be interesting to see if the new line is as good as the old line.

 

[Drew03cmc]

10 hours ago, MAN said:

Its because you will see H20X in its place soon.  

A rebranding? I bought 3 medium depth red squarebills, 1 red flat side, 1 frog and 1 jerkbait tonight for $6.19. I couldn't complain.

[fin]

11 hours ago, Log Catcher said:

We had our first Academy store in town open up today. The official grand opening is to be this Friday. I went out there this morning to check them out. The had a pretty good selection of H2O baits. I bought one in a bluegill color and a pack of Zoom Z Craw Jr.

That's interesting. Were the H2O marked for clearance? That would be odd, a brand new store with stuff marked for clearance, but I could see it happening. I wonder if that store has the new branding/packaging?

[BigBites]

They’re marked 75% off starting yesterday 

[Deleted account]

On 9/23/2022 at 5:56 PM, fishinbub said:

Academy makes way more money selling clothes to your wife while you shop than they do selling you H20 baits. It's not even outside the realm of possibility that they're going to slim down the bait selection and stick with products that sell the best vs. having a broad selection. That seems to have been the trend with them lately anyways

Oh yeah, soft goods mark ups and sales are way higher than hard goods. One of my best bike customer was a women's gloves rep, and he rode (not well) several expensive bikes. Academy has been waffling somewhat after the buyout, they will fine, (or DSG will buy them). Who needs socks?...

[MAN]

13 hours ago, Drew03cmc said:

A rebranding? 

 

Yes, you will see it start trickling in the stores late October/early November.  Definitely take advantage on the great pricing on everything H20Xpress right now!!!  

[king fisher]

I went on the Academy website, to see if I could get some good deals on H2O crankbaits.  They show only two hard baits, and they are the regular price.  I looked at other of brands hard baits, on their site, and was surprised to see the same thing.  Normal soft bait selection, but hard baits are no where to be found.  Strange that Rapala, and Strike King crankbaits were also being eliminated.  I hope this is a temporary situation.  H2O square bills are as good as any plastic crankbaits made.

[Robin]

Reply from Austin Texas. The aisle/space has been totally vacant for about two weeks and the employees I spoke with are clueless as to what may happen next. I doubt that any of them really care anymore. Academy is no longer the same store they used to be. I have been a loyal customer for 40+ years, but things started going downhill quickly after they were acquired years ago.  I suspect they are being run by a VC group motivated only by the "bottom line". I have seen this happen to a number of retailers and restaurants in Texas. I thankfully stocked up on H20 lures several years ago. Hopefully I am wrong, but I have a bad feeling this go around. I have never seen the local stores remove the product completely.