ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a freelance writer and photographer , Rob Newell has been reporting on fishing tournaments for 20 years , finding the stories between fish and angler to be a stretched line of heroes , heartache , triumph , torture , inspiration and exasperation .

n the modern era of professional bass fishing , pros now use sonar to “ see ” in every direction from their boat . For many years there was traditional 2-D sonar , which looked straight down below the boat . About 15 years ago , the advent of 3-D imaging , or side scanning , allowed anglers to see out either side of the boat .

In the last several years , however , the ability to see out in front of the boat has become a reality thanks to “ forwardfacing sonar ,” which has become the hottest new buzzword in professional fishing .

Forward-facing sonar has actually been around for quite a few years , but improvements in this technology over the last three years have made it a major player in tournaments today . With each new iteration of this forward-looking technology have come the benefits of being able to see fish , bait and cover from a perspective anglers have never been able to experience before .

Over this past season , I had the opportunity to view several different versions of forwardfacing sonar with my own eyes , and the forward angle combined with enhanced clarity is

truly mindboggling . Compared to traditional down and out sonar angles , the forward-facing point of view brings unprecedented advantages .

With traditional down sonar , the boat has to be overtop of the fish , intruding on the fish ’ s territory in order to obtain the image . It could be argued that with side scan , you don ’ t necessarily have to encroach on the fishes ’ habitat to see them , but you eventually have to circle back around and line up on the fish and / or cover in order to make a presentation , which takes time .