There, in the middle of the desert, no water in sight, was one of the most enormous fishing and outdoors stores I’d ever seen – right in the heart of the City of Sin.
Bass Pro Shops are very comparable to Cabela’s or the other big-box outdoors suppliers, but it’s the location of these Outdoors Worlds that have blown me away.
Convenience
I, like many anglers, don’t have a fly shop or even a well-stocked sporting goods store around the corner, so I spend a lot of my time shopping at various shops and outdoors super stores while I’m on the road or on the Web.And Bass Pro Shops Outdoors World is definitely at the top of my list of must-see detours off the highway.
Building a Giant
Established in 1972, Bass Pro Shops has evolved into the No. 1 "Outdoor Retailer in America," according to the Sporting Goods Business magazine in 2007, with 47 retail locations in the U.S. and Canada.
Today, Bass Pro Shops have all the bells and whistles, specializing in bass fishing tackle, equipment and boats, but also turning desert dunes and cityscapes into water wonderlands filled with giant aquariums, streams, waterfalls and even trout-stocked ponds. The dioramas give the entire store a museum like feel with big game species from all over the world.
Oh yeah, and the stores have all the fishing, hunting and camping gear and apparel you could possibly want. Add a small fly shop and a boat showroom, and wader-clad anglers and boaters should be able to get their fix at Bass Pro.
Pros
Like Cabela’s, the store itself is the spectacle but most of their gear also is available online for anglers who don’t live near a Bass Pro location.The clearance page on the Web site, always has unbeatable deals you can’t find anywhere else. In the store, the best deals are usually displayed clearly along endcaps and in the main aisles. The company also sends out more than 150 catalogs each year.
The actual store, however, is certainly worth checking out in person if you have a chance as walking through Outdoor World is like a free trip to a major aquarium. In Las Vegas, the Shark Reef Aquarium at Mandalay Bay, for example, costs $16 for adults. Outdoor World is free and has many of the same marine species Mandalay Bay has in its tanks. Most Outdoor Worlds have full-service restaurants and the Las Vegas location is even connected to a casino and cabin-themed resort.
Cons
Big-box stores like Cabela’s and Bass Pro don’t have the small-town feel and local insight that a hometown guide and fly shop can provide. I’d always recommend the mom and pop stores first for their local know-how and customer service.While the Web site is available 24 hours a day, many of retail stores are located in the Midwest and aren’t available to anglers along the coast. California has one store with two more in the making and the Pacific Northwest does not have a store as of March 2008.
While Bass Pro’s White River Fly Shop is a fun little shop with some great deals, it’s not exactly a mini Orvis.
Conclusion
Nevertheless, Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World is worth a stop if you ever see one off the highway – and they’re so massive in size they’re nearly impossible to miss.
You’re sure to find a deal there, and if not, you’ll certainly enjoy the aquariums, dioramas and displays they have for visitors.
Even if you find yourself in the middle of the desert.
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