Forward-facing sonar has changed literally everything in the sport of bass fishing, to the point we’re seeing anglers sight fish for bedding bass by watching their graphs, not actually looking at the bass in the water with their eyes. While all the new tech is amazing, and has added so many new elements, challenges and advantages to the sport, we understand forward-facing sonar fatigue is real. And a lot of the fans are already getting burnt out on it. Well, Mark Menendez to the rescue.
“The most awesome part is it’s just fishing,“ said Menendez. “There’s no technology involved.”
Menendez is flipping cypress trees and actually has his electronics turned off this morning. He believes that pointing his forward-facing sonar at the trees is unsettling the fish that are able to feel the ping of his transducer.
Worth noting as well is the gear used by the Skeeter/Yamaha pro. Though most anglers opt for spinning gear and wacky rigs for fishing the cypress trees on Santee, Menendez has a flipping stick in hand with stout fluorocarbon. He’s fishing a Strike King Cutter worm rigged on a 5/0 Gamakatsu hook with a 5/16th ounce tungsten weight.
Luke Palmer is also flipping with a baitcaster, a YUM Wooly Bug being his soft plastics of choice. This is the same presentation Palmer used last year to finish fourth on Santee. The weather sets up well for the two power fishermen to flip their way to a couple more big bags today.
