June 6th, 2015 - Walmart FLW Boating - Fishing Expo South Florida Report

Attended the Walmart Summer Fishing Expo to promote National Fishing and Boating Week as an ambassador of the FLW on Saturday June 6th at the Goulds Walmart Super Center store 5912. I was there to answer fishing questions for customers, to promote the FLW Future Tour Pro Angler program, fishing license purchases and having a pitching game. Amongst other things the program included: ¢FREE FLW fishing licenses holders ¢FREE FLW Memberships with digital delivery of FLW Bass Fishing magazine (a $15 value) ¢FREE Future Walmart FLW Tour pro stickers for children ¢Wildlife Forever State-Fish Art contest information with a FREE lure offer for children. The Positive: Is amazing to experience first hand the amount of questions local anglers have when it comes to lure & gear selection, the grand majority of them seem to be learning from experience rather than taking time to research proper techniques and tactics (Perfectly okay, but can be expensive and a bit frustrating in my personal opinion), so it felt great to show them things that would help them improve their performance. It was also very nice to experience the partnership between Walmart and the FLW and how grateful the staff and the manager were to have a little input. Room for improvement: Lots of room, if you ask me... I'm pretty sure the Walmart headquarters has its own purchasing agents, but in all honest truth, the lures and color selections are far from optimal (At least in this store), I felt like looking at a shelve offering lures that were meant for a completely different state; rod selection is pretty basic, hence driving out more experienced anglers from coming into the store... Lastly, if the FLW is willing to send ambassadors to the stores, would it be fair to propose that these ambassadors provide the fishing section staff with some specific training on regular basis?. Overall, a great experience, lots of attention, very gratifying and fulfilling the "off the water" side of the sport. I had a lot of fun sharing with customers and their kids.