Forward Facing Sonar

No matter what brand you have, all of us are familiar with Forward Facing Sonar (FFS). By far the most controversial subject in freshwater fishing today. The smaller walleye world is seeing the conversations and even repercussions of FFS the Bass world has been going through for several years now. To compare anything that has come before FFS in the fishing industry is just nonsense. I remember when my Dad had the paper graph with a pencil and then upgraded to a digital screen on the counsel, or when swim baits took the fishing industry by storm, or everyone learning the importance of braided and fluorocarbon line. But to compare any of those things to FFS is like comparing daylight to darkness. We must all admit that nothing is comparable to the cutting-edge technology we call today, Forward Facing Sonar. I grew up around tournament fishing as a kid and remember my family hosting a Bass circuit out west that is so old, I was unable to google it. Growing up around tournament angling was special to me. I was lucky enough to even fish a few with my Dad before Jr High and getting wrapped up in sports. The days of running weigh bags to anglers to put their fish in and seeing fish hit the scales and hanging out eating junk food while they announced winners and prizes was a hard life to beat.

Full disclosure, I personally have the Lowrance version of FFS (Active Target) on the front of my Lund Tyee with an ol Yamaha 250 two banger. A few years back I caught myself on the lake fishing less and just practicing and understanding the importance of reading my side imaging. Rather than looking for fish I couldn’t believe how I could follow or mark a weed line and be so far away from it or find stranded rock piles or various structure and bait balls without putting the boat on top of it. A short while later we were all hearing of an even newer technology of seeing the fish in real time.

I saw the same short videos you did while scrolling for short comedy skits on my phone at night. I still do this, and my favorite ones are the practical jokes between a married couples or Dad’s messing with their kids. My wife still rolls her eyes at me laughing at my phone while lying in bed or on the couch at the end of the day. I had to do some reading and watch several YouTube videos to see what was going on with this new FFS.

I was hearing of a guy named Josh Jones catching these monster Largemouth Bass on OH Ivie in West Texas using this technology. I was pretty blown away and there were a few people in the north country starting to use it. Josh Jones catches a lot of hate, but I really got nothing but respect for the guy. He did what someone else would have done and he turned it into a life of fishing. I would have done the same thing but as it sits, Josh Jones is probably the reason the FFS is on your boat today. In my mind he is the pioneer and hard to say he is not the best in the business at using it. He himself has come out with some surprising statements and interviews regarding FFS and tournament fishing and I applaud him for that. He also just happens to use my favorite rods.

When I first got my Active Target, it was like I was back to when I first started using my Side Imaging. I was fishing less and just trying to understand it and identify fish and see how they reacted to different presentations. It truly brought out the importance of fall rate or getting a fish to react by stopping or moving a bait a certain way. The truly amazing aspect I got out of it is how many fish get within a matter of inches of your presentation and stare at it without getting bit.

Please do not compare me to some of the elite users of FFS, but I will say the more you practice with it and understand what you’re looking at, changes the game entirely. Then you get better at seeing fish up shallow in the weeds although the fish in deeper open water are far more susceptible as you can track them for as long as they stay out there, which is the main reason why I think having the sonar mounted to your trolling motor with the foot pedal is still king. Mine is still mounted to a pole, which I do like when the wind is blowing and the trolling motor is in anchor mode fishing shallow water, ideally the 8–12-foot range. When I do see those shallow fish in the weeds I am not trying to track or stay on them, but I do know they are up there. With the pole mount in deeper water, you simply do not have enough hands to track and put the bait in front of that fish, especially if you have the hand control versus a foot pedal. Bottom bouncing is a whole other conversation having the ability to scan in front of the boat and put yourself into position where the fish are. I could be wrong in some of this, and I am not trying to give lesson, but I do understand the capabilities FFS.

I appreciate the days of a tough bite when you really saw an angler grind out and try and do everything right for five bites for a chance to win. Old timers will tell you the tough bite is when you saw those that were best axcel. Water temp, weed lines and clarity were some of the biggest factors in finding those fish that could put you on the leader board. You do that now and you are certain to be towards the back of the pack.

On the Hi Line, especially Glasgow, I used to see this town shut down for the almighty Gov Cup. It truly is something special and I think many want to see it stay that way. I noticed in 2023 a little less of a spark and in 2024 we all saw the unfilled entries posts circulating social media. We can blame it on many factors like inflation, economy or cost of fuel, but the truth is, the more folks you talk to who fished the Gov Cup on an annual basis, there is one reason they are choosing not to compete, and it is due to this technology many have come to both love and hate. Not long ago, folks were having to decide in the early fall if they were planning on fishing the tournament as the number of slots available would fill in a matter of hours. Seemed like the tournament staff really had their stuff together as they were setting a record every year for slots being filled in record time. I for one, and I know many would agree, would love to see this return to the norm.

In today’s tournament world, everyone has a “spread” above their name nobody is paying attention to. You have an angler’s ability with the FFS and angler’s ability without it. Some are high with or without it and some might really drop without. The idea behind tournament angling is to see who the best fisherman is in those given number of days in a straight up competition. The more you get away from the straight up competition, the more entries lost and less of a positive impact on the area hosting the tournament. This “spread” is what is going to be the next big thing in tournament fishing.

There are many going back and forth on the conversation on justifying FFS or not. he one true question should be what is good for the tournament series itself? Is this NWT or a highly competitive amateur tournament? I am not saying to get rid of FFS all together, but some serious conversations need to be had to keep our local tournament angling alive and happening for all rather than a single group. I keep hearing guides and outfitters justifying certain hunting regulations because without the people present, small towns would have a hard time surviving, I would like to see the same narrative carried over to the walleye circuits in Montana. Are we doing what is good for the series and to keep these tournaments going and the towns hosting them thriving.

Lot of us need to put aside self-interests of what is good for the individual and look at what is good for the sport and the town. I see some acting as ambassadors making an argument for a side rather than listening and coming up with a solution to what’s good for all. When acting as an ambassador, you are finding what is good for the group not your self-interest. Just like the Mule Deer issue of Eastern Montana, I along with many are concerned of folks starting to hang it up and lose interest in things they called “a way of life.”

At Eastern Montana Outdoors, we are discussing ideas for those Non-FFS boaters, $tay tuned.