PHOTO BY GARRICK DIXON
ardly a season passes without claims of a bass-fishing breakthrough – some new lure , technique or piece of equipment to raise eyebrows , fuel a trend and stoke industry sales .
But advances in forward-facing sonar ( FFS ) technology over the past few seasons have turned the industry – and the sport of bass fishing itself – on its ear .
FFS is rewriting the textbooks on bass behavior . It ’ s shaken the grip of tightly held tenets , throwing exception and nuance into our understanding of bass ’ use of structure and cover . It has awakened us to the wanderlust of fish once largely believed to be homebodies , demonstrating that they move more and roam further than we ever believed . Perhaps its most exciting impact has been in the angler-bass confrontation , the head-to-head play of predator and prey . It ’ s an underwater reality show in a realm once hidden from the fisherman ’ s eyes .
Whether used to win a major tournament or satisfy an angler ’ s bottomless curiosity , FFS is paving the way to
discovery , teaching us , humbling us , revealing new techniques and refining old ones , opening avenues to new lures and manners of presentation .
Nowhere has the impact of FFS been more profound than in the professional circles . Rare is the MLF tournament today in which forward-facing sonar is not a major factor . Many MLF anglers have already become accomplished students ( if not acknowledged experts ) in its usage .
The New Space Race
For bass fishing legend Kevin VanDam , watching fish react to a lure in real time truly is angling ’ s version of Neil Armstrong ’ s “ One giant leap for mankind .”
“ There ’ s definitely a space race in technology going on now ,” VanDam says , citing Humminbird ’ s announcement of MEGA Live TargetLock , an advancement that frees transducer focus from trolling motor direction . “ I ’ ve been on pro bass tours for 32 years now , but in the last few years , technology has made the biggest difference in our game . It ’ s been one of the most impactful things I ’ ve seen in my career .”
* VanDam ’ s Tips and Observations
Drop-shot and Damiki rigs are two followup baits VanDam employs in conjunction with FFS .
“ A 1 / 8- or 1 / 16-ounce weight slows the sink rate of my drop-shot ,” he says . “ You can watch the fish follow it down .”
Weighted crankbaits play a bigger role today , too . Carefully weighted Strike King 5XD and 6XD crankbaits deliver a tantalizing slow rise when paused and enable him to keep his bait in the strike zone of bass positioned at 15 to 20 feet .
“ I can stop it , twitch it , fish it almost like a jerkbait ,” he says .
VanDam hails Humminbird ’ s MEGA Live TargetLock as a major advancement in the category . The transducer rests on a turret that operates independently of trolling motor position . It allows him to hold a reading on a targeted fish while adjusting boat position .
VanDam rattles off a litany of advances from improved color-image 2D sonar , side imaging , downscan capability and MEGA 360 through map downloads and auto-chart capabilities . Each has added an incremental layer of knowledge , awareness and capability to his game .
“ Not one guy on tour has fewer than four graphs on his boat today ,” VanDam says . “ And most have five , because you have to . A year ago , some guys on tour were still fishing without forward-facing sonar . Now it ’ s an absolute must . It ’ s that valuable .”
OCTOBER-NOVEMBER 2022 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 63