Rampaging wild boars don't scare them. Freezing wetlands don'tdeter them.
So a measly 'not-open-to-the-public' sign wasn't going to keepJack and Daryl Shipp away from a sneak preview of the giant Bass ProShops Outdoor World store at Arundel Mills mall. The brothers slippedseamlessly into a media tour of the 130,000-square-foot behemoth,getting a jump on throngs of avid fishermen and hunters who have beenexchanging e-mails and phone calls about today's 9 a.m. opening ofthe national chain's first store in the northeast.
'My wife may end up taking my credit cards away from me,' JackShipp, a Laurel Realtor, said as he gazed longingly at rows offishing rods and lures, shotguns and ammunition.
It can be a strange sight, indeed, to see rough-hewn men in theirplaid shirts and floppy hats loitering like rock-and-roll groupiesoutside a nightclub's alley entrance. But each morning, for weeks,they have been congregating outside the store, sometimes sliding inwith the carpenters and the painters or sweet-talking young employeesinto impromptu tours.
'They get here before we do,' said Joe Evans, the store'spromotions manager.
The Bass Pro Shops owners expect 100,000 shoppers to pour into thestore in the first three days, spending more than $1 million andgiving a boost to a retail market that has been sagging since theSept. 11 terrorist attacks. Bursts of enthusiasm have becomecommonplace when the chain's stores open. They boast that theiroriginal store, in Springfield, Mo., is the state's largest touristattraction, a claim that Missouri tourism officials say is plausiblethough almost impossible to confirm.
The gawkers at the Arundel Mills store are drawn by a gaudymarriage of commercialism and entertainment. There is a 30,000-gallon aquarium stocked with bass for fishing demonstrations and acraggy, 3 1/2-story rock-climbing monument that anyone weighing atleast 50 pounds can climb for $3.
When they're not scaling rocks, shoppers can choose from 5,000rods and 30,000 lures. If the Bass Assassin lure doesn't strike theirfancy, they can pick up a 'motor-oil gold lizard' lure or a 'Mr.Wiggly' or even something from the 'Squirmin' Bait' series.
There are camouflage T-shirts for infants: plain ones for the boysand lace-collared ones for the girls. And, for those long nights inhunting lodges equipped with VCRs, there are display cases filledwith such titles as 'Good Shootin' ' and 'Tough Hunt Fever.' Thearmchair hunter who wasn't sated by 'Monster Bucks' I, II and III canbuy copies of 'Monster Bucks' IV and V.
Above the display cases, there is a mind-boggling array of stuffedanimals suspended from the tall, metal ceiling or clamped to props,like a wobbly slatted bridge that also holds a replica of a wide-eyed hunter scrambling from a huge black bear. There are wild boars,giant turkeys with spreading wings, bobcats and two long-leggedmoose.
Many of these trophies were bought by the store's teams of bargainhunters, who scour garage sales and estate auctions.
'A big-game hunter passes away and sometimes his wife just can'twait to get rid of the stuff,' Evans said.
Mindful of the store's proximity to Washington, the owners haveinstalled out-sized photos of various presidents enjoying theoutdoors. The elder George Bush, shin-deep in a muddy river, flashesa proud grin as he lofts his scaly conquest for two burly fishingbuddies. Across from the senior Bush, Franklin Delano Roosevelt leanscontentedly against a tree with a flask in his hand.
The store's formula, though, goes beyond sales and memorabilia.The owners are also hoping to capture a chunk of the service market.There are several high, roll-up service-bay doors designed toaccommodate an array of fishing boats.
The store's managers, anticipating sales of $11 million in boatstheir first year, figure they can also make thousands more lubingengines and making repairs.
'We followed the example of the car dealers,' Evans said.
The store is also teaming with several environmental groups tocollect donations for Chesapeake Bay conservation programs that willbe matched by the the chain's owner, Johnny Morris.
Legend has it that Morris started the chain with one shelf ofoutdoor supplies at his family's Springfield, Mo., liquor store. In30 years, it has grown into a nationwide chain, with most of itslocations in the South and Midwest. The Arundel Mills store will bethe 14th.
All of this is being watched warily by the small, independentoutdoor stores that have catered for years to the men and women whohunt and fish in and around the Chesapeake Bay.
'It'll affect us; you're going to lose some market share,' saidCharlie Ebersberger, who owns the venerable Angler's Sports Center,just off Route 50 near the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.
Ebersberger, who has been in business since 1955, said smallerdealers will have to focus on niche products and loyal regulars.Because big stores such as Bass Pro Shops don't sell live bait,Ebersberger is counting on his regulars to stop by when he opens at4:30 a.m. to buy local bait, such as soft crabs.
But Ebersberger is realistic about the eventual impact of thegiant store.
'Small shops, especially those nearby, might go out of business,'he said.
