Pictured above: Elite Series pro angler John Crews

 By Steve Chaconas

Forward Facing Sonar (FFS) in professional bass tournaments continues to come under fire. Established pro trail, BASSMASTERS, is restricting FFS use for 2026 tournaments.

This followed Major League Fishing (MLF) restricting FFS to one of three periods. The National Professional Fishing League continues to outlaw FFS.

For the last 5 seasons, fans and anglers have been speaking out against FFS reliance. It’s become a young verses old debate. Younger anglers have embraced technology, claiming older anglers just can’t figure it out. Listening to anglers, fans, or both, BASSMASTERS is restricting FFS use, letting a coin toss decide which venues FFS could be used resulting in 5 events with and 4 without FFS.

One of three pro anglers having fished every BASSMASTER Elite Series tournament, BassCat Mercury pro John Crews is looking forward to this season to see the true talents of the younger pros, referred to as “scopers”.  He says the format will provide a comparison with and without FFS and whether fish counts go up with use. Crews evaluates having or not having FFS for the 9 events.

According to Crews, the 5 locations allowing FFS provide a contrast of impacts. February’s event in Alabama’s Lake Martin with FFS will open more water as the lake fishes smaller this time of the year. FFS will be a huge factor as they target spotted bass in clear water. But in April, the Arkansas River in Oklahoma would require creative use of FFS as using it won’t be a factor in how most are going to catch fish that time of year. He adds you don’t know what might happen. In May, the Elites travel to South Carolina to fish Lake Murray where 30% at most will be using FFS quite a bit, enabling the lake to fish big. FFS might not be a huge advantage, depending on herring spawn. In that case, FFS will be used to follow the bait to locate where fish have moved, a different use of FFS. But some will traditionally scope, otherwise running and gunning or sitting on spots. As June rolls in, the Pasquotank River in North Carolina, won last year using FFS, will be interesting as more anglers are likely going to use FFS. Here the spawn will likely be behind them, and anglers will need to find fish living offshore and deeper. Even though there will still be a ton of fish caught conventionally, flipping and topwater, FFS will be a big influence. At summer’s end, August, New York’s St. Lawrence River will be good. Crews says this is a great time of the year up there and having FFS however will allow anglers to pinpoint fish and what they are keying on…or just move to another area and not waste time.

For fisheries where FFS is not allowed, Crews provides insight. Lake Guntersville in Alabama continues to be a great fishery all year. With FFS, weights would be very high, but without it should still be very good and Crews expects to see a variety of techniques utilized. A fishery not impacted by FFS is in March on the Tombigbee Waterway in Mississippi. Crews says there’s plenty of shallow fishing with a few opportunities to fish offshore cover. Santee Cooper Lakes in South Carolina in May would have been a good FFS stop, but with more grass growing there’s good opportunity for guys who can figure out that bite. Crews says the biggest changeup for FFS users, who would have targeted offshore fish feeding on bait, will be on Lake Champlain in New York. He says populations of fish on cover isn’t as good as in the past. He says the biggest factor there will be the weather.

This new BASSMASTER rule makes FFS all or nothing. Compared with MLF, where anglers can use it in practice and for one period daily, the impact of having or not having FFS will be more pronounced. Crews says the MLF scenario makes the anti FFS argument more pronounced as it showed the direct impact FFS had on outcomes even when used for only one period. He also points out that MLF format wouldn’t work in BASSMASTERS as they don’t have judges in their boat, adding that MLF promotes hole sitting by anglers waiting for their FFS periods.

As for the coin toss randomly determining FFS use, Crews feels this satisfies fans who want to see varied competition. He predicts there won’t be much movement in angler rankings as over the past 4 years older anglers are staying near their career averages. Crews says, “I’m old enough now that any rule or tech change makes the next year exciting…a little new, different and refreshing, looking forward to see what will happen.”

As the trend in pro bass fishing returns to pre FFS use, will next season continue to show the dominance of anglers who rely on FFS? Or will those who reject technology return to their dominance in the sport where age and experience used to be an advantage.

About the Author:  Capt. Steve Chaconas is Potomac bass fishing guide & freelance writer. Potomac River reports: nationalbass.com. YouTube video channel NationalBassGuide

Potomac River Bassing in November

Early on, water will be near 60, closer to 50 by month’s end.

Shallow to deeper diving crankbaits tied to 10 pound test GAMMA EDGE fluorocarbon line will pull fish from cover and down drops near cover. Contacting cover is key. Chartreuse color patters work when sunny and darker, craw or red pattern are best for cloudy days.

Jigs are also a great bait. Black/blue patterns with chunk trailers will get to the bottom and allow slow movements. Use 12-14 pound test GAMMA EDGE and downsize line when water gets closer to 50.

Mizmo tubes in River Craw is a great Potomac color. Darker colors when water has more stain. Use 10 pound test GAMMA Torque braid with 10 pound test Edge leader. ¼ ounce jig heads allow the bait to glide along the bottom and down drops.