Ever since I was a little kid I get excited about the return of the Northwest Sport Show. I remember like it was yesterday, my uncle coming to pick me up early in the morning because "the early bird gets the worm" and my mother handing me thirty dollars as I ran out the door "in case I find anything that would look good in my tackle box".

The Sport Show meant a lot to me every year. I'd see the pros with their jersey's demonstrating the newest baits in the bass tank. I remember all the brand new shiny boats that I could only stare at and dream of one day when I was bigger I was going to get one of my very own or the G Loomis fishing poles that I eagerly saved my allowance for. I'd always get a bag from one of the vendors and you'd think it was a personal competition to make sure I filled that bag with as much stuff as I possibly could. New tackle! Put it in the bag. Ranger boats new boat catalog! Put it in the bag. Resort pamphlets from Vancouver to Saskatchewan to Mexico! Put them in the bag. Are you kidding me? That guy with that new ShamWow towel can do some amazing cleaning tricks! Mom needs to know about this! Brochures, in the bag!

I'd spend the entire day with my uncle and we'd talk fishing and hunting and tell stories, fabricated ones of course we are fisherman. It was great and at the end of the day we'd leave full on whatever they were cooking on the Big Green Egg, even though it's meant for samples to showcase the green grill, I think we used it more like a buffet. By the drive home we were both overly anxious to get out and actually catch some fish.

Fifteen years later and now I'm all grown up and still have that same excitement as I did when I was a kid. The roles have changed though, now I'm that fishing pro wearing the jersey and promoting the products that have helped me get to where I'm at today. This weekend I'll be spending most of my time working the Navionics booth and promoting their new products and apps that are taking the fishing and boating world by storm. It's no secret that Navionics has been consistently pumping out the best lake maps for the entire country including maps for ocean and Great Lakes fisherman a like. They've recently begun releasing over 1,000 totally revamped lakes throughout the country and we'll have a list of the new northern lakes available at our booth.

The past couple of years the hot talk with the consumers visiting the Navionics stands was the development of the Navionics app for smart phones that literally has taken hand held GPS systems out of the game. Now with the introduction of the Navionics NewsStand that comes with every Navionics App download, people can also read up on boating and fishing articles from some of the world's best.

This year is especially exciting at the Navionics booth as they'll be doing a special Sport Show promotion. Anyone who buys a Navionics NEW Marine & Lakes USA or HotMaps Premium Special Edition Midwest States chip at the show from any of our dealers can come to our booth #734 with proof of purchase and will gift you your choice of the iPhone/iPad Navionics app or our PC app! Also, anyone who stops by the booth can register to win a brand new Lowrance HDS 5 just for stopping by, no purchase necessary at all! Just come by and say hi.

Speaking of Lowrance, I'm chomping at the bit to be able to show people the magic that is when you combine Navionics Mapping with Lowrance's new StructureMap that is available in their new HDS Gen-2 line of fish finders! This allows you to overlay all the structure around you on top of your Navionics Map. Making finding fish related structure a breeze and completely eliminating the guess work. Whether your a die-hard tournament angler or just planning a fun family fishing trip, this setup will making your days on the water a success. There's no denying that Lowrance is continually developing the mold to which the competition can't break!

Even though these days I spend most of my time working at the show, I still find a way to sneak over to that Big Green Egg and see what's on the grill and don't think for a second that I don't still have the habit of filling a bag full of brochures of all the things I just have to have and though my Mom may now be off the hook, my wife Bri get's the pleasure of seeing and hearing all the "stuff" that I just have to have. Unfortunately for Bri my taste may have also gotten a bit more expensive from that of a 14 year old. The days of the ShamWow Rag and little fishing float boats are in the past, now were dealing with Lowrance Graphs, Power Poles, RV's and hey, how's about a brand new shiny Ranger Bass Boat Bri? Does it help that it'll be sparkly and pretty?

To all, I hope to see you at the show! Be sure to stop by the booth, say hello or simply talk shop. See you there!

About the Author - Josh Douglas is a professional tournament bass angler and a full time guide on Minnesota's, Lake Minnetonka. He competes in the Bassmaster Opens, NABC Tournament Trail as well as other select tournaments across the nation with the ultimate goal of qualifying for the tour level as well as the Bassmaster Classic and Forrest Wood Cup respectively. When not on the water, Josh enjoys writing about his passion of bass fishing through numerous outlets including his personal website, www.JoshDouglasFishing.com.