Find hunting, fishing deals from over 250 vendors at Sportsman Show

Louisiana’s largest fishing and hunting show takes over the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales on March 14-17 to showcase the latest and greatest products the outdoor community has to offer. The 34th Louisiana Sportsman Show will feature more than 250 vendors and entertainment for the whole family.

Daily entry is $10 per person and three-day passes are available for $15. Entry for children ages 6 to 12 is $5, and children younger than 6 are admitted free. Thursday is a free sneak peak of some of the best deals on boats, ATVs, tractors and outdoor power equipment.

Tickets are available online at www.LouisianaSportsmanShow.com.

Last year’s show was the biggest one on record and this year’s show is even bigger.

"At this point, the show space is equal to six Superdomes," show director Jack Fisher said. "The big addition to this year’s show is the Louisiana Sportsman Boat Show. This will be the biggest boat show ever held in the Baton Rouge area. We have almost every boat manufacturer represented, and the boat dealers have been working with their manufacturers to come up with some special show pricing."

Another new event for this year is the Yamaha ATV test track.

"There is going to be an actual track set up onsite with boulders, logs and lots of mud where you can ride one of the latest Yamaha models," Fisher said. Every other major brand of ATV will also be on sale.

For bowhunters, there is the all-new Ultimate Archery Shoot Out trailer and the Cabela’s 3-D Archery Shoot. For fishermen there is a 40,000-gallon bass tank where local and national fishing pros will be conducting seminars on how to catch more fish.

Of course, the crowd favorites are back. The Big Buck Contest returns this year, with every entrant being entered into a random drawing for a brand-new Yamaha 350 Grizzly ATV. The big buck contest features some of the biggest bucks killed this season. All entrants also receive free admission to the Show.

There is also the Bassmaster Classic-style weigh-in on Sunday at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center, with the top 25 teams from Saturday’s qualifier vying for the $12,000 top prize in the second annual Louisiana Sportsman Championship Open bass tournament sponsored by Skeeter, Yamaha, SPRO, Gamakatsu, P-Line and Daiwa.

Many of the 250 fishing and hunting booths will be offering special pricing available only at the show. A prime example of this will be found at the Sportsman Discount Zone presented by Bowie Outfitters.

"Bowie is bringing three trailers full of rod-and-reel combos, lures and many other outdoor products," Fisher said.

Of course, the Sportsman Show has no shortage of fun activities for adults and kids alike.

"We’re going to have an all-new Kids Zone that will include plenty of fun for children," Fisher said.

The hallmark feature of this part of the show will be the return of Splash Dogs, but there will also be a trout-fishing pond and lots of other kid-friendly activities.

And there’s no reason anyone should leave the show hungry. Delicacies on hand include gumbo, jambalaya, alligator sauce picante, crawfish etouffee, po-boys, catfish and more. Show guests will also be able to enjoy samples from the jambalaya and cracklin’ cook-offs.

Log onto www.LouisianaSportsmanShow.com for full details.

Times for the show are: Thursday from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.