Thompson's Sport Shop bit the dust shortly after Sports Authority moved down the street from it. That was a great shop that did everything and it was my childhood fishing shop.
A good friend of mine owns a fly fishing shop in the area BPS seems to have it's heart set on. It's the shop that really got me into saltwater fly fishing back when I was younger. Thriving in the shadow of one of those mega stores is NOT easy and I'll not be too pleased if he struggles on account of BPS.
I'll be even more hell bent on ruining BPS and Cabellas sales in this region then I already am if that comes to pass. Don't think I won't start selling freshwater bass stuff just to spite them.
What also gets me riled up is that I really don't feel those places do anything to pass fishing on to the next generation in the way smaller shops do. My parents really weren't that into fishing, I can say right now Thompson's is a large part of what I'm doing both for work and play today.