There is no bias in a coin flip, but the results of the coin flip that determined the forward-facing sonar restrictions for the 2026 Nitro Boats Bassmaster Elite Qualifiers presented by Bass Pro Shops seemed particularly consequential.
“I feel like it didn’t go the way a lot of people wanted it to go. Personally, I like how it lays out,” Bassmaster Opens Division 2 champion Brody Robison said. “We’ve had a lot of slugfests, so having a really tough one will change things up and be really interesting.”
To recap, the first event at Norfork Lake and the last event at Lake Guntersville will be fished without the use of Garmin LiveScope, Lowrance ActiveTarget and Humminbird MegaLIVE. Sandwiched in is the lone FFS event at Toledo Bend Reservoir. At the end of it all, 10 of the 130 anglers on the EQ roster will move on to the 2027 Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series.
While it may seem the advantage would go to anglers who would prefer to utilize traditional tactics, Jeremy Lawyer doesn’t necessarily see it that way.
“Norfork is going to be one where I feel like the guys who lean towards forward-facing are going to struggle,” Lawyer, a Division 2 pro, said. “Then at Toledo Bend, they will have the upper hand and will be able to target a larger class of bass doing their thing. So, it’s really tied going into Guntersville. If that was a lake that was just so-so, I feel like the experienced anglers might have more of an edge, but the lake has exploded and you can catch them anywhere.
“I really do think it is pretty even.”
Both divisions of the Opens featured two events that permitted FFS and two that did not, so this isn’t a new concept for 2027 Elite Series hopefuls. Robison, half of the 2026 Bassmaster College Championship-winning duo, mastered the split schedule using different approaches, and he expects to execute that again in the EQs.
“In a non-FFS event, you can slack off a little on the idea that you have to catch the biggest bass in the lake and focus more on finding the numbers of bass to keep the confidence high,” Robison said. “I want to continuously get bit. In FFS events, it is all about finding the biggest bass. Someone is going to find that caliber of bass and win the tournament. It also opens more complex areas of the lake that you just can’t access without forward-facing sonar.”
The compromise gave anglers the best of both worlds, creating better vibes throughout the season according to former Elite Series pro Darold Gleason while also answering questions about the perceived skill level in the field.
“Whether it is the Opens or the Elites, the cream still rises to the top. The guys on top of their game will have the most success,” the Louisiana pro said. “I’ve been prefishing, and I’ve seen a lot of the guys who did well this year out there putting in the time, too.”
Still, the impact of the FFS rulings looms large given the time of year.
Fall fishing has always been classified as the most difficult time of year to be consistent. The bass spread out, suspend and follow baitfish more than usual. Without any sort of forward sonar, finding, let alone catching, many of these bass was nearly impossible.
But when you include forward-facing sonar, fall fishing becomes more manageable and certainly more efficient in combating the changing seasonal dynamics.
“This is absolutely no shot at anyone, but the younger guys fishing in the fall … all they know is LiveScope. Right now, that is what I would be doing too if I were going somewhere,” Gleason said. “The fall has always been a tougher time of year. Everything goes to roaming this time of year. A lot of the lake’s turn over. The shad transition and move. When things get on the move, that is when LiveScope really shines.”
Forward-facing sonar certainly helps, but Robison believes the overall quality of anglers has improved so much that there is just a better understanding of what will happen during this time of year.
“Forward-facing sonar helps anglers stay around fish in the fall, but as a whole anglers are better than they ever have been,” Robison said. “They understand what is really happening under the water and are able to keep tabs on them.”
The first tournament is not for the faint of heart.
“It is going to kill some hopes and dreams,” Gleason said.
Lawyer has hardly seen a drop of rain since June. The Missourian lives a couple of hours north of Norfork Lake, where the quest for the Elite Series begins. Dry conditions, little current and no FFS will make the opener a mental challenge for nearly every angler in the field.
“This one is going to make your eyeballs squint and your ears want to blow up,” Lawyer said. “The pressure of what is on the line … it’s going to be really hard. It will be a mental game. You can lose the whole season here.”
Half of the lake is unfishable, in his eyes, which will make popular areas even more crowded with anglers fishing for the same bass at the same time or in quick succession. In years past, 2D sonar could be utilized like forward-facing sonar, but Lawyer doesn’t believe that can be nearly as effective now.
“When you put this many anglers on a lake like Norfork, and take half the lake out of play, then it is going to get crowded,” Lawyer said. “It makes for tough fishing. It is as hot as I can remember and as dry as I can remember in the Midwest. There will not be a lot of big bass caught. The weights will be as low as anything that’s ever been seen on Norfork. But I like these kinds of tournaments.”
Gleason hoped Toledo Bend would be played without forward-facing sonar so he could utilize more of his home-field advantage. Instead, he has spent around a month relearning his home fishery, knowing his best chance at staying in the points race, and efficiently finding giant bass, is with the technology.
Grass will certainly play a role at Toledo too, but Gleason isn’t sure it can keep pace for three days. In fact, as soon as the coin flip wrapped, he packed away his big rods and pulled out the spinning rods.
“LiveScope absolutely changes the weights and makes anglers much more efficient,” Gleason said. “This one is going to be a full out slugfest. The weights will be crazy, which will do a lot of the lake and the area.”
When the dust settles on these two events, Lake Guntersville has the chance to be the most intriguing of the three events. Weather will determine just how good it fishes, but anglers could go almost anywhere on the lake and find success.
The way the coin fell, one thing is for sure: Each fishery will provide its own unique feel with multiple techniques and baits coming into play. Robison believes topwaters will play a major role in these events.
“We will see some hero to zero happening and a lot of changing around once we get to Guntersville,” Robison said. “Someone who bombs Norfork may sneak in and a guy who was in it the whole time could slide out at Guntersville.”
