Bass Pro Shop Is Coming, Bass Pro Shop is Coming

As I drive by the Cross Iron Mills mall which has not yet gained popularity, I cannot help but turn my head and smile. The reason for the ear to ear smile is the massive 150,000 square feet Bass Pro Shop of course. A fisherman’s dream, a hunter’s every wish. It is anticipated that Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World and NASCAR Speedpark will be the major entertainment tenants, marking their second Canadian locations after Vaughan Mills mall in Vaughan, Ontario. The mall often referred to as the “Balzac mall” or “Balzac racetrack” is located in the Municipal District of Rocky View, on the south east corner of Highway 2 and Highway 566 just outside of Calgary, which is also known as the Balzac overpass.

A Bass Pro Shops store ranges from 300,000 square feet (28,000 m²) all the way down to 42,000 square feet (3,900 m²), many of them have two levels and are around 150,000 square feet (14,000 m²). Around the stores, you will see taxidermy mounts native to the area. All of the stores have an indoor water feature that showcase fish species that are indigenous to the area with the larger stores having more than one water feature. In some of these aquariums professional anglers and store pro-staff hold demonstrations showing the use of an artificial bait. Bass Pro Shops is also known for its Outdoor Skills Workshops. These classes are free and open to the public on a first come first served basis. They teach skills as varied as fly-casting, Dutch oven cooking, archery hunting, and GPS navigation.

Bass Pro has published one-page ads in outdoor magazines that their stores are “so damn big, you have to hire a guide.” What makes the stores really unique is the detail taken when designing the interior and exterior of the store. Bass Pro has a fabrication shop in Nixa, Missouri, that builds the pine and cedar log structures, as well as 55 artisans that are coppersmiths, blacksmiths, carvers, painters and fabricators. They hand make the chandeliers, lights, lanterns, wood carvings and iron work that is displayed throughout the store. They also have artists that paint huge murals on the walls and ceilings that incorporate mounted animals for a 3-D effect.

Bass Pro Shops (Outdoor World) is a privately held sports equipment and outdoor recreation goods store headquartered in Springfield, Missouri. The original Outdoor World store, referred to as the “Grand Daddy” is located at the corner of Sunshine and Campbell in Springfield. Bass Pro Shops rings up an estimated $1.9 billion in sales in about fifty large retail stores in the United States and one in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. It also owns and operates subsidiaries such as Tracker Boats, Big Cedar Lodge, Redhead, XPS, American Rod and Gun, White River Fly Shop and restaurants, Islamorada Fish Company, Hemingway’s Blue Water Cafe and Riverside Inn. Bass Pro Shops is known for a large selection of hunting, fishing, and other outdoor gear.

Bass Pro Shops have a huge assortment of fishing tackle that is exclusive to their store. Rods, reels and tackle are just some of the gear only found within their retail outlets. This just increased my odds of catching more fish as it did your odds. I will be one of the first people to walk into the store come opening day and believe me I will have cash in hand, lots of it. I will selectively pick out lures I have never seen before and use them on my next fishing adventure. I will also take a good look at their reels and rods and maybe purchase something that suits me and my style of fishing. I do visit their online fishing store and look around but it’s just not the same as being there and seeing it first hand. You know actually spinning the reels, feeling the rod in your hand, shaking the lure to hear the sounds. You cannot do that over the internet! This new store is only going to improve on what is an already great fishing resource here in Alberta. Who knows, you might just see me behind the counter selling you some tackle one day?

NOTE: Some sources of this article were taken from Wikipedia.