Finally, A Rational Discussion About Forward Facing Sonar: Two Pro Bass Anglers Sharing the Facts

Kurt Mazurek | 3 Hours Ago

Learn the truth about forward-facing sonar (FFS) from two top pro bass anglers. Get expert tips to improve your FFS game and make the most of your time on the water. / Mastering forward facing sonar

The topic of advancing fishing electronics technology, specifically forward facing sonar (FFS), has been at the center of tournament bass fishing’s controversy and drama for way too long now.

How Forward Facing Sonar Is Changing Bass Fishing

The lines have been drawn and it seems like everyone needs to make sure everyone else knows where they stand. Longtime friendships have been lost. Careers have ended. Top level tournament rules have changed. Savvy and/or potentially unscrupulous influencers have milked the topic for maximum clicks and digital fame. But, right when it felt like the dust had maybe started to settle, Humminbird announces their new LIVE 2 and the storm rages on.

Check out my recent story of Kevin VanDam demonstrating his new Humminbird Mega Live 2 and XPlore units during the latest forward facing sonar launch event. / Humminbird

Will This FFS Debate Be Any Different?

Then I tuned into the latest episode of Bailey Eigbrett’s Serious Angler Podcast. Eigbrett is a legit bass catching hammer in his own right, but he regularly brings some of the sport’s top performers on the show and shares some great insights, tips and techniques. This latest episode was co-hosted by the “Bassin’ Captain”, Andy Full, and featured a two guest interview with Major League Fishing (MLF) Bass Pro Tour (BPT) anglers, Drew Gill and Spencer Shuffield.

Gill hit the BPT running full blast at the beginning of 2024, racking up a 3rd in his first pro event, a victory at Stage Five on the Chowan River, and securing the Rookie of the Year title.

Shuffield, son of legendary FLW pro, Ron Sheffield, has tournament bass fishing in his blood. In 2024, his second year on the BPT, Shuffield scored four Top 10s and teamed up with Matt Becker to win the 2024 Challenge Cup in Erie, Pennsylvania.

So, now that we’ve established everybody’s credentials as legit, successful bass anglers, let me tell you what I heard that inspired this story. The name of this particular podcast episode is “6 Forward Facing Sonar Tips from Pro Anglers.” Like I mentioned earlier, at this point, I’m pretty tired of the whole forward facing sonar debate. But, I’ve listened to this podcast quite a few times and trusted that Eigbrett was likely to present worthwhile information. I hit play.

Serious Angler Podcast host, Bailey Eigbrett interviewed BPT Pros, Drew Gill and Spencer Shuffield to get their thoughts on the best ways to use forward facing sonar to improve your bass fishing. / Serious Angler Podcast

Pros Go Deep on Forward Facing Sonar

After some friendly banter, giving the audience a chance to know these anglers, the first official topic was set–the number one piece of advice you’d give the average angler who wants to improve their forward facing sonar game. Both pros came out of the gate with way deeper and more thoughtful answers than I was expecting. Let me give you a taste of the kind of info this 90-minute discussion holds.

Drew Gill taking care of business on his way to the 2024 BPT Rookie of the Year. / Major League Fishing | P. Moore

Drew Gill’s Best Advice for FFS

“Your brain is your most powerful tool,” explained Gill. “If you try to convince yourself that there’s anything more to using FFS than the ability to see underwater, which is obviously a huge advancement…don’t short change yourself by thinking that it’s all about secret settings or secret baits. The biggest part of [forward facing sonar] is connecting your mind with what you see on the screen and processing that information…you’ve gotta translate it. You’re seeing underwater in a different language. It’s like going from English to Spanish, but it’s the same words. The biggest part is connecting your mind to what you see and processing that information.”

Spencer Shuffield knows it takes a lot of work to get results like this, even if you are using forward facing sonar. / Major League Fishing | J. White

Spencer Shuffield Explains Misconceptions of Forward Facing Sonar

Shuffield agreed with the importance of making that mental connection. He also wanted to clear up the main misconception a lot of anglers have about FFS. “There are a few situations where I can take a Damiki Rig and go fish to fish to fish, and throw at them. But really, at least 80% of the time, there’s so much evaluation that goes into [using forward facing sonar]. When fans see us on T.V., jackin’em on scope, we have done a lot of homework to get to that point. It’s not like we showed up at the lake and took off…there’s so much more to it. It takes a lot of practice, a lot of time, and knowing what you’ve seen when you see it.”

Will This Forward Facing Sonar Info Help?

Again, this is an hour-and-a-half discussion and these are just two little nuggets that stuck with me. I love that they both started with that firm reminder that this is a tool that can help you become a more efficient angler, but there’s absolutely nothing automatic about it. It takes a lot of practice, experimentation and analysis, but if you put in the effort it can help you get that much closer to putting the pieces of the puzzle together.

And the discussion just goes on from there–tons of great insight is shared. Everyone was rational, respectful and insightful. It's exactly how I wish we could talk about every bass fishing topic, including forward facing sonar. Even if you’ll never be competing in the big leagues, who wouldn’t want to learn ways to make the most of our precious time on the water? I would strongly recommend checking out the rest of this podcast. Serious Angler Podcast