Forward-facing sonar is the arch nemesis of many an angler. The “cheater box,” as it’s called by its fiercest opponents, has polarized the angling community worldwide. From the top stages of the sport to podcasters throughout the land, many anglers at all levels continue to debate the ethics of FFS and whether or not it should be allowed in tournaments, or even at all.
Some have called for an all-out ban on the tech, while others are huge fans of the tech, having embraced it and, quite plainly, become dependent upon it. I still fall somewhere in the middle, not quite willing to take a hard and fast stance on it in either direction.
My dad has it on his boat, and I like to use it to pan around and find cover and structure. But I’m not a fan of chasing a suspended fish around in open water. So, I guess I like moderate use of FFS. But I’m not sure a human is allowed to take such a middle-of-the-road stance about anything in 2025; the world would rather have me pick a group to hate. No thanks. This is my stance for the moment, and I’m not hating on anybody.
The way I see it, though, if it is legal to use it, I have to either learn to use it or learn how to beat it. The powers that be have made their decisions on the legality of it in tournaments and at large, so it’s not going anywhere.
If you want to use FFS, go for it. If you don’t–whether fishing tournaments or just fun fishing — hopefully these tips will help you learn how to beat it or catch fish without it.
Fish One-Day Events
When it comes to tournament fishing, one of the greatest ways to gain a competitive advantage over FFS is to fish single-day events. You can still win a one-day tournament fishing the bank, or even fishing offshore without FFS. But the further you get into a multi-day event, the harder it is to outlast the FFS bite.
We just witnessed this play out in the recent Bassmaster Elite Series tournament on Lake Hartwell. Sight-fishing phenom Drew Cook put together three awesome days along the bank to hold the lead headed into the final day. However, Paul Marks was able to overtake Cook on Day 4, catching his fish using FFS.
There’s a two-pronged reason this pattern repeats itself. Shallow fish just don’t replenish nearly as fast as offshore fish do. Even in a spawning event like this, where fish were coming to the bank, Cook wasn’t able to hold on. In addition, while the shallow fish deplete the supply stays steady for the offshore angler. So the anglers using FFS trend upward throughout the event as they refine their patterns and get better and better at figuring out where the fish are, what they are doing, and how to catch them throughout the week.
So, if you want to beat FFS, focus on one-day events like local pot tournaments. Don’t fool with the Opens and the Toyota Series. If you hate FFS, you’re setting yourself up for a headache and heartburn. There are plenty of quality tournaments now around. I know a few guys here in Alabama who have averaged six-figure tournament incomes for multiple years and rarely left the state. Granted, most of that money came by way of boat bonuses, but the point is, there is a way.
I have nothing against Marks, but I must say the shallow-water enthusiast in me was rooting for Cook to pull it off. Had this been a one-day event, Randy Howell would have won it on a 7-pound bed fish and a topwater bite. Had the event lasted only two days, Cook would have beaten Marks by a margin of 1 pound, 10 ounces. As it wound up, Cook lost his Day 3 lead to Marks, finishing the event in 4th and coming up 3 pounds short.
Focus On Heavy Current
Focusing on heavy current is a great way to beat the FFS bite, too. While FFS can certainly be used to find cover in current, it’s rendered nearly useless as far as casting at individual fish goes. Dustin Connell just won his third Major League Fishing (MLF) Redcrest Championship below a dam on the Tennessee River, proving this theory.
It’s no secret that Connell does use FFS on the Bass Pro Tour. But he’s also a phenomenal current fisherman, having been born and raised on the Coosa River fishing power plant discharges beneath Lay and Mitchell Dams. He chose to go old school on Lake Guntersville, running 70 miles to Nickajack Dam and all but turning his graph off.
Instead of using FFS, Connell chose to “triangulate,” as he’d done for decades. Using his graph and trolling motor to maintain his position, he picked out landmarks on shore to judge where he should direct his casts. He also “read the current” by looking for subtle differences in how the water moved and rolled. This translated to his third Redcrest title.
This style of fishing takes extreme skill, and it can be dangerous. Strong currents and rocks under the water all around can lead to an angler being thrown from a boat, or even a boat getting swamped and going under. Don’t take this way of fishing lightly; wear a personal flotation device (PFD) and respect all posted signage while always practicing extreme caution.
Go Extra Shallow
John Cox is the last great hope for the shallow water warriors to aspire to. Cox has had a FFS transducer put on his boat a few times, but it’s been ripped off more than it’s been turned on. Going shallow is Cox’s game plan, and it’s won him several events at the national level, even in recent years amidst the FFS craze.
Thanks to Garmin’s Perspective Mode and other tech like it, FFS is now effective in water that’s only 3- to 5-feet deep, but if you continue to push shallower and shallower, you reach a point where FFS is no longer effective.
Even if you could get close enough to see the fish on the graph, you’d be close enough to spook them good. Looking for shallow areas like this, way in the backs of creeks and pockets, is a great way to beat FFS. But, you’re going to need to know what you’re doing when you get there.
While Cox is the epitome of the shallow-water fisherman, he’s not just a power fisherman; he’s also really good with a spinning rod, and you have to be, these days, if you want to compete shallow. The era of taking a spinnerbait down the bank and winning a multi-day tournament is nearly over. You need to be able to skip a little worm around every piece of cover to pick a place clean.
The angler offshore can afford to let a bass pass by, the angler shallow has to catch everything in the area to have a chance
Fish Lakes With Heavy Vegetation
Choosing to fish lakes and rivers with a lot of vegetation is another great way to give yourself a fighting chance to fend off the FFS crowd. While the tech is super helpful when fishing submerged vegetation, it is ineffective in thick, matted cover, and bass love this kind of cover.
Look at Guntersville as a great example of a fishery with features like this: At certain times of the year, when the grass is matted and topped out, you still have a fighting chance of competing with a frog and a flipping stick. Maybe not in the local hammer tournament, but certainly if your club is traveling there.
The same is the case on lakes like Okeechobee, where vegetation abounds and makes sonar harder to use. Yes, you can have a guy still set up in the shallows there that are more open and dominate from time to time. But the combination of shallow water and thick vegetation gives you a chance to win without FFS.
Final Thoughts
I must admit, even as I laid out how I really feel about FFS in this post, I found it a little surprising. I am about as put out with how dominant forward-facing sonar has become as anyone, and find myself losing hope of anyone being able to win without it.
Still, my dad and I won a couple local pots on Lake Martin in the last 10 months without any of the significant fish we caught coming off FFS. We had to fish shallow to do it, and a 6 pounder in one event and a 4 pounder in the other on a lake that takes 12- to 14-pounds to win.
So, it’s not easy. But it is doable. I know it. Hopefully this gives you a little hope to hold onto if you’re holding out on joining the FFS game. Whether you’re flat out against it or just can’t afford it, there are ways to catch them and compete without it.
