Scottsboro Tackle Alabama swimbait university Guntersville

On my drive to the 2020 Bassmaster Classic, my first stop in the state of Alabama was not at a gas station. It was not at Dreamland for ribs. It was not at Talladega. Instead, I very purposefully made a beeline directly from my Virginia home to Scottsboro Tackle in the town of that same name.

I was aware of Scottsboro Tackle primarily because of their in-house line of swimbaits, jigs and terminal tackle, some of which I had tried, and all of which are reported to be of exceptionally high quality.

Scottsboro Tackle STC swimbaits Mullins Madness Natural Light

I also knew that they carried a wide variety of swimbaits that are hard to see in-person in the east, like Huddlestons and 3:16.

The shop itself is located in the quaint downtown portion of Scottsboro, on the Courthouse Square. It’s not necessarily a spot where you’d expect to see a tackle store, but the “Get to Flippin’” motto on the overhead sign leaves you no doubt that this is a serious shop. There’s plenty of parking for vehicles on the square, and since I didn’t have a boat with me, I wasn’t concerned about trailer parking – but there may be some nearby.

Once inside, it doesn’t resemble a typical tackle store in one other way – it’s remarkably neat and well-organized. Lures are categorized and well-stocked, and I didn’t see any out of place. There’s a dedicated swimbait section, huge wall space dedicated to soft plastics, and plenty of room in the aisles. A few customers trickled in and out while I was there, and all of them were greeted kindly but then generally left alone to do their thing. Everyone who came in found what they were looking for (and possibly more) and made a purchase. To me, their approach to customer service is what I’m looking for – I want to know that the staff is aware of my presence and able to help if I have a question, but I freak out if they’re hovering over me the whole time I’m in the shop.

Scottsboro Tackle swimbait selection Guntersville Alabama 3:16 Megabass Keitech GanCraft

I found what I was looking for, including those Huddlestons, at a fair price. I’ve been fishing the Megabass 6-inch MagDraft a fair amount lately and had been pondering the purchase of the JDM 5-inch models via ebay. That proved unnecessary because STC had plenty in stock, and they did not price gouge in the least. In fact, those 5-inch models are rare enough, that when later in the week I asked Chris Zaldain if they performed similarly to the 6-inchers, he wasn’t aware of their existence. “I think you’re talking about the Spark Shad,” he replied. When I told him I was certain that they were MagDrafts, his ears perked up. I’m guessing he was either on the phone to his sponsor or might’ve even visited STC later in the week.

Total purchase: $137.25