Walmart in Viroqua WI no fishing depatment???

I’m going to kind of remain calm here, but some things are just to perplexing to not bring up. This time of year I spend a considerable amount of time shopping for tackle box bargins , wherever I’m at or near any fishing equipment retailers and yesterday was no exception. After wife’s doctors appointment we stopped at Walmart in Viroqua WI. This time it was actually for a few items I needed for Full moon nighttime fishing and friends coming this weekend. Anyway this Walmart is down to a 4 ft section of fishing???? An employee said it has been phased out over the past year.

So here’s my comment and to non-tournament anglers it may not matter at all. Walmart is one of the Largest sponsors of Competetive fishing. Yet for years I have been in complete amazement of how,(forgive ny bluntness), ignorant many northern Walmarts sportings goods departments are about the local fishermans needs or fishing period. To be fair they have many useful items, but if you compare them to their Walmart counterparts in many southern areas the contrasting difference is almost embarrassing.

So why does it matter so much to me??? Because I want all my past, present, and future sponsors to reap the absolute highest rewards possible for the money they spend on me or the series or events they sponsor. It sickens me to see them invest money and then not utilize that investment to the utmost, or as I see in some cases at all???

There are hundreds of other places I and you can buy tackle and some of us even get some or all of it for free, but if I’m fishing a tournament whose major sponsor has a retail outlet in the area , I’m going to stop in and get fill ins just out of principle. In my case it carrys over into times when I’m not going to a tournament.

And yes there is a selfish side to my concern also. I just got an invitation to enter either as a pro or co-angler an event which normally at this late date has a huge co-angler waiting list, and a considerable waiting list for in some cases years for a pro to get in and that scares me for competetive fishing, and yes for my own prospective personal income.

So what do all of you see as the future of fishing tourneys especially national series and how much of the prospective possible problems do you think may come back to poor utilization of the marketing and profit opportunities missed by sponsors, especially now when fields may be down because of economic situations of competitors. These organizations, FLW in particular runs fantastic tournaments and their staff and officials are amazing so in my opinion that isn’t part of the picture Happy Hook-ups Lawrence

Couple points…

1) Wal-Mart on the south side of LaCrosse did not set up an ice fishing display this year. Guess ACE must of ran em out

2) Picked up 3 spools of Fireline on clearance for $5 at the Viroque Wal-Mart store sometime right before Turkey day last fall. Cleaned them out. $15 line for $5 Cashed in on 2 lb Vanish that day too One American dollar per spool. I’m stocked for a couple of years on line…..

3) I don’t tourney fish – say other than a local fisheree or two on the hard water. I’m opinionless other than the fact I guess I won’t be buying any fishing supplies in the Walley World up on the ridge in the future cuz they don’t carry it any more! ACE, Cabelas, Gander, & Gunners like my money. ACE even gives me a 10% discount on all purchases….

Personally, I have always thought going to WalMart for fishing tackle was like going to McDonalds when I was hungry for a T Bone steak.

I do not know of any tournament guys coming to La Crosse that run to WalMart for any fishing gear or, ever have. Try to get into one of the good local tackle shops during a tourney is another story though, they will be busy

WalMart I’m sure is not concerned about there sports department, there participation in tourneys is nothing but a write off for them.

Walmart in Viroqua ( along with many other locations) no longer sells guns, either. The pitiful amount of hunting and fishing equipment the do sell is a joke. My son lives in Kirksville, Missouri and their Walmart has a ton of hunting and fishing supplies, includung guns.

Now if I want to buy ANY sporting goods I have to drive 30 miles to Lacrosse or I have to plan ahead and order them on the Internet.

Maybe Walmart doesn’t want my fishing and hunting dollars. Maybe I shouldn’t give them any of my other dollars, either.

about two maybe two and half years ago walmart under the radar announced it was cutting and elimanted hunting and fishing supplies—no margins according to them….at the time it led to layoffs at some major suppliers

WAL MART is out of the fishing tackle? GOOD…That’s right..

GOOD… because it opens the door for a mom and pop store.. A place where you can get real REEL service instead from some little girl who doesn’t know a cane pole from a candy cane..

There used to be a great tackle shop in Viroqua.. it was in the jewelery store.. and then the Box stores started coming..

So now this opens the door for some enterprising person to have bait shop..

and THAT’S GOOD.

and just because you want to save a nickel on tackle, doesn’t justify your rant..

Wal Mart hurt, Hurt, HURT a TON OF BUSINESSES. and the mom and Pop tackle store was one of them..

so take those Wal Mart tears somewhere else..

Well Old Rat, I’d love it if someone would open a store in Westby or Viroqua. You may have missed my point about having to drive 30 miles to buy ANY fishing or hunting supplies. Maybe with NCR closing, one of their former employees may have the courage to open a sporting goods store in one of the many empty store fronts on Viroqua’s Main Street. It will take tons of cash or tons of credit and plenty of long hours and hard work, but I’d love to see it done.

You are right about K&L being a good sporting goods store. They were nice, knowledgeable hometown people. Too bad they closed up.

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WAL MART is out of the fishing tackle? GOOD…That’s right..

GOOD… because it opens the door for a mom and pop store.. A place where you can get real REEL service instead from some little girl who doesn’t know a cane pole from a candy cane..

There used to be a great tackle shop in Viroqua.. it was in the jewelery store.. and then the Box stores started coming..

So now this opens the door for some enterprising person to have bait shop..

and THAT’S GOOD.

and just because you want to save a nickel on tackle, doesn’t justify your rant..

Wal Mart hurt, Hurt, HURT a TON OF BUSINESSES. and the mom and Pop tackle store was one of them..

so take those Wal Mart tears somewhere else..

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I was waiting for Oldrat

And I have to agree

I just love a spirited discussion… I second the shout out for Brad and the guys at Ace , and add Bob’s and Captain Hooks in La Crosse area and FF in Winona in the kudos, too.

I just looked at the my tax return we finished Monday and it looks like I only spent $5370. on tackle last year and probably 85% of it at those four locations. Did you say Ace only gives you 10% off ???? Well it’s 11:45 and time to go fish the afternoon and night fullish moon walleye bite so I won’t be weeping for Walmart at least until tomorrow morning … keep posting this is getting some exciting answers.

I suppose I should mention our tiny little family owned mom and pop business competes against WW in a totally different category and hand them their lunch daily.

Happy Hook-Ups Lawrence

let me say that if you have good knowledge of tackle.. You have a store front available.. and you have no competition, and you have $185 and first months rent.. It would be that you could start a store in Viroqua.. if just selling Minnows and Worms, hooks and sinkers alone.. and do quite well.

I know this from PERSONAL EXPERIENCE..

Lawrance.. You have a business.. you probably have a well. put in a couple of minnow tanks and throw some hooks on the wall.. open a tackle shop.. You have been around for a long time.. You even came to my shop a time or two..

so instead of complaining, jump on the opportunity.. and make some bucks.. its right there for the taking.

Your wholesaler is right down the road.. what else do you want?

You could be open by Monday afternoon…

Im with powerfred,being from Richland Center I now have to drive an hour just to buy a few things I might need the next morning. I realize walmart hurt alot of places,but now that they are gone at least walmart should stay stocked up. I fish 30plus days a year and maybe 3 or 4 small tourneys a year so it was nice to grab a couple things close to home. I guess after thinking about it I agree with everyone!

Mom and pops service? If you want to fish first light around this area you better buy bait the night before. I wish we had a few more bait shops in the area because competiton might have someone open the doors before 7.

What if Walleyworld [Walmart ] held a tournament and no one showed up, would that tell them either support us or just get out. Maybe they could hold them in China where they get all their garbage anyway!

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WAL MART is out of the fishing tackle? GOOD…That’s right..

GOOD… because it opens the door for a mom and pop store.. A place where you can get real REEL service instead from some little girl who doesn’t know a cane pole from a candy cane..

There used to be a great tackle shop in Viroqua.. it was in the jewelery store.. and then the Box stores started coming..

So now this opens the door for some enterprising person to have bait shop..

and THAT’S GOOD.

and just because you want to save a nickel on tackle, doesn’t justify your rant..

Wal Mart hurt, Hurt, HURT a TON OF BUSINESSES. and the mom and Pop tackle store was one of them..

so take those Wal Mart tears somewhere else..

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Amen Brother!!!

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Mom and pops service? If you want to fish first light around this area you better buy bait the night before. I wish we had a few more bait shops in the area because competiton might have someone open the doors before 7.

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Ain’t that the truth
But, there is 1 bait shop in the area that is ALWAYS open at 5:30 a.m. Karl’s in West Salem and he has a full selection of live bait and some tackle. Bret stops in there to pick up bait when we fish Pool 7 and 8. That place is the only reliable shop in the area

And the donuts across the road aint bad either.

Headin’ there tomorrow AM before the derby in Stoddard. Suppose I might as well hit the doughnut shop too.

Just a side note this is the original question I asked:

So what do all of you see as the future of fishing tourneys especially national series and how much of the prospective possible problems do you think may come back to poor utilization of the marketing and profit opportunities missed by sponsors, especially now when fields may be down because of economic situations of competitors. These organizations, FLW in particular runs fantastic tournaments and their staff and officials are amazing so in my opinion that isn’t part of the picture OH AND IT WAS IN BOLD IN THE ORIGINAL POST TOO???

I was gonna pass on answering an earlier comment but since it’s a new day And I’m dressed and headed out for another great day on the water I can spare a minute or two.

Bret, Just a heads up … in the Walmart in Lake Wales Fl (Kisssimee/Toho tourney) last February the Thursday before the tournament at the end of the fishing day the line in sporting goods took me almost 1/2 an hour. All tournament shirts in front of me??? That particular store has approximately 3 150 foot rows of fishing equipment on both sides. The Bait Shop just across the road with probably 10 times that much was also busy.

I assume you have competed in or been around the BFL, Stren , or other large tournaments, if not the next time they are here, step inside Walmart in the sporting goods department before and after the meeting and watch the tournament guys , and gee maybe they just had dinner at Mc Donald’s Supper Club those sinners….

And yes those that are aware of local options hit the locals shops too… on TV last night it was reported that Rheinhart was attempting to sell Ace in La Crosse so hopefully when or if they do the selection and staff will stay the same.

GREAT Bakery…. In West Salem

well Lawrence, its going to change. Wal Mart is GETTING OUT OF TACKLE. Completely. look at Shopko.. there tackle selection at Bridgeview plaza WAS, and the key word here, is WAS the place to buy stuff in LaCrosse.. and their pricing was so low, ( because Point, the wholesaler, gave them discounts that I never saw) was to the point that I bought my line from them and marked up a dollar and still was making more then if I had bought it from my wholesaler..

but its all changed..

Look at Mac’s in Onalaska.. here is a place just dying for some one with a brain to take over.. but it hours of work.. and its hours of license sales and the like. but its not going to compete against Gander for tackle sales.

what it is, IS WHAT IT IS.. a bait shop.. sells about 30 -50 inexpensive rods per year.. a couple of reels. tons of hooks, line, sinkers and bobbers.. and tons and tons of live bait.

right now, today. that store should have sold 100’s of dollars of waxies this morning.. but it lies idle..

because its a one man, or one family operation.. you can’t support two families from that store.. its not big enough.. Square feet equals dollars.. and the more you have and the more people can actually see.. the more you sell.

but even then, every day you are going to hear.. I could save .50 by buying this at Gander.. or what not..

but Gander isn’t open at 5 o’clock, or 6, 0R 7 OR 8 O”Clock.

so you take the grumbling and ring the till. and keep on going..

but FLW or not.. those are CROCODILE TEARS. and I have no, NONE, NOT A BIT of SYMPATHY for You and your Wal Mart rant..

its that you are one of the Grumblers.. worried about a dime and could care less about local businesses unless they are your own..

and those are the people that you should have sympathy for, and should bond with. competition or not.. They are more aligned with you then Wal Mart ever will be.. and if Wal mart could take ever dollar spent in your store away, they would in a heartbeat and would take pictures of your store closing and be sending them to Arkansas.. with hearts and smily faces..

There is one bright spot about their sporting goods dept. You never have to wait in line to buy a license since sportsman don’t go there to buy stuff.

I imagine they will hopefully just get out of the fishing/hunting business since their token offering of merchandise is all but useless.

I just got back from Winona, and I made my way to the Wallyworld up there. It looked grim. I found about 8ft of shelving leftovers on it. Almost all of it was on clearance…..at least what was left.

I’ll agree with much of what was said. This will indeed help the resident baitshops. I never bought much from Walmart. I mostly got my gear from Gander, Bob’s Bait or online. I will miss cruising through WallyWorld’s isles and buying their clearance items. Ya can’t beat Gammy Bass hooks for $1.50 per package.

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but FLW or not.. those are CROCODILE TEARS. and I have no, NONE, NOT A BIT of SYMPATHY for You and your Wal Mart rant..

its that you are one of the Grumblers.. worried about a dime and could care less about local businesses unless they are your own..

and those are the people that you should have sympathy for, and should bond with. competition or not.. They are more aligned with you then Wal Mart ever will be.. and if Wal mart could take ever dollar spent in your store away, they would in a heartbeat and would take pictures of your store closing and be sending them to Arkansas.. with hearts and smily faces..

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I just didn’t want anybody to miss the best part of your post. Happy Hook-Ups Lawrence

I didn’t miss any of it Lawrence, and I agreed with everything old rat posted. I can get some really good cheese to go with your whine

Me Too I believe I just said it was the best part of the post??????

I am so confused Your original post sounded like you were complainig about Wal-Mart closing their fishing tackle. Then you are agreeing that Wal-Mart is sucking the life out of mom and pop shops. Which is it? You ARE in favor of Wal-Mart or are NOT?

I have no problem with Wal-Mart, in fact I shop there for just about everything. But, when it comes to fishing tackle, they are not even considered. Every now and then, they have a close out on reels and I consider buying them, but usually don’t Gander is good, Bob’s Bait is good (if only he would get out of bed before 7 )

Not take this post in another direction but I have heard that the Ace on the southside maybe closing if a buyer can’t be found in a month. This won’t help anything get better. I agree, if you want to fish early AM in the La Crosse area you need to buy your bait the night before. I haven’t used minnows much this winter so thankfully Kwik Trip sells waxies.

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so thankfully Kwik Trip sells waxies

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Kwik Trip has saved me several times this year due to them selling waxies now

Many comparisons can be made between kwik trip and walmart

I disagree with that. Kwik Trip is a privating owned company that invests heavily in their stores and in their people. I know several people who work here from store managers to carpenters to IT people all have nothing but very postitve things to say about the compnay. I know this; if this company ever decided to sell common stock on the open market I would beg, borrow or steal every dime I could and by the stock. You can’t get out of the place without spending at least five to ten bucks and that’s without buying gas. Capitalism at its finest.

True…then the same capitalist argument can be made for walmart. My point is that kwiktrip has, especially in Wisconsin run out many of the “old corner stores” that many smaller towns used to have. Being originally from Northern WI, we can see how Kwiktrip has slowly made the migration longitudinally.