I’m sure I’m like most Bassmaster Elite Series anglers in that I’ve spent a good amount of time thinking about the 2026 season — specifically, the new rules regarding forward-facing sonar. Basically, five of the nine Elite events plus the Bassmaster Classic will allow the use of this technology, while the other four Elites will not.
This will be different, but in all honesty, I won’t prepare any differently. When I thought back on my 2025 season, I probably caught 60% of my fish without forward-facing sonar. I grew up in the age when this technology first came out, but I didn’t have it when I was working to reach the top level of this sport.
I know how to fish with forward-facing sonar and without it. I did a lot of that this season, just fishing my strengths at any given time.
I feel comfortable with and without forward-facing sonar, and the 2026 Elite schedule sets up pretty well for me. There’s a good diversity of fisheries, and with the forward-facing sonar challenge they’ve thrown on top of it, I’m really looking forward to next year a lot.
In terms of how this will impact the 2026 season, I think the new forward-facing sonar format will add a whole new layer to our tournaments. It’s gonna be different for the guys who heavily rely on the technology, and it’s gonna be different for the guys who are used to fishing without it.
That’s just an extra thing to think about when you’re formulating your game plan, especially before the season starts. This will affect how you want to practice and what you want to look for at each fishery.
The thing to remember is forward-facing sonar often comes into play, regardless of how you’re actually fishing. You’re always looking, and you always find stuff with it.
That’s going to be the biggest challenge for me — figuring out how to completely fish without forward-facing sonar. In the tournaments where it’s not allowed, I won’t be able to glance down at it and depend on it when I feel like I need to.
You’ll have to be more creative next year and think outside the box.
We all know the determinations on which events will allow forward-facing sonar and which will not were made randomly. However, the one where I was looking forward to having forward-facing sonar was Lake Guntersville. That’s because I know the kind of weight it would take to do well and how many fish we would catch with it.
I still think the weights are going to be incredible at Guntersville, but obviously, forward-facing sonar would have enhanced the weights quite a bit.
Other than that, I think the coolest one without forward-facing sonar will be Lake Champlain. I’m really looking to do a total 180 on a body of water where forward-facing sonar has been so dominant.
I think it will be cool to see the largemouth play a lot more, and I’ll be curious to see if our guys can figure out a way to catch those roaming smallmouth without forward-facing sonar. I know a lot of guys are going to try, so that one’s going to be the most interesting for me.
Ultimately, I like forward-facing sonar, but I also just like to fish. This format of splitting up the events with and without the technology is the way I’d hoped B.A.S.S. would go, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out.
