Fantasy Fishing: The return of live sonar

Written by

Kyle Jessie

Arkansas

I’m not even going to sugarcoat it; my Fantasy Fishing confidence has been shaken after an atrocious start to the season at the FXR Bassmaster Elite at Lake Guntersville. The good news is that we don’t have to wait long to try to turn things around. The Lippert Bassmaster Elite at Lake Martin kicks off this Thursday (February 12, 2026), just a mere three-hour drive from Lake Guntersville.

The first thing to note is that anglers will be allowed to use live, forward-facing sonar at Lake Martin, and it will absolutely play a big role at this event. Martin is a deep, clear lake that is full of spotted bass. Big largemouth will propel anglers to the top of the leaderboard but the spotted bass tend to be much more consistent.

If you like watching fish catches, I’d expect that there will be no shortage of them on Bass Live at Lake Martin.

Keeping that in mind, I will rely heavily on anglers that are excellent with forward-facing sonar but will also consider anglers who could also slide up shallow in hopes of boating a kicker largemouth.

Let’s get into some picks.

BUCKET A: EBARE

Everyone knew when Dakota Ebare joined the Elite Series that he had the opportunity to be a star. After a slow start in 2025, the Texas pro has really turned it on and doesn’t seem to be slowing down with a Top 10 at Lake Guntersville. The combination of his great start this season, his efficiency with forward-facing sonar and his 3rd place finish at Martin in the 2024 Open make him a great pick in Bucket A at only a 4% player percentage.

Solid secondary selection: I was really tempted to pick Kyle Welcher in Bucket A because it feels like he’s the kind of guy that could figure out how to trick those big largemouth into biting around boat docks or shallow cover. Also, Welcher is closest to being a “local” out of all the anglers in Bucket A.

BUCKET B: SMITH

Bucket B is chalked full of spotted bass experts like Paul Marks, Taku Ito, Cody Meyer and Caleb Hudson, but I’m going with a lower percentage pick in Bryant Smith. The California pro is a spotted bass expert as well, which makes it hard to believe he’s currently at a 1.3% player percentage.

Solid secondary selection: I think I’ll just go ahead and copy and paste that entire list of anglers that I just mentioned as outstanding picks in Bucket B – Paul Marks, Taku Ito, Cody Meyer and Caleb Hudson. Jason Williamson could also be a sneaky pick in Bucket B.

BUCKET C: FOTHERGILL

After narrowly missing the cut at Lake Guntersville, look for Easton Fothergill to bounce back in a big way at Lake Martin. It’s no secret that Fothergill is an expert with his forward-facing sonar, which leads me to believe that he will figure out a way to find the right quality and end up with a great finish. Not to mention, he notched a solid 17th place finish at the Lake Martin Open in 2024.

Solid secondary selection: Bryan New is no stranger to fisheries that set up similarly to Lake Martin. Much like Welcher in Bucket A, it’s easy to imagine a scenario where New can target largemouth with success like we have seen him do in the past in similar fisheries.

BUCKET D: SMITH

I’m not sure anyone expected to see Tucker Smith in Bucket D after the season opener at Lake Guntersville but that’s where we’re at. I wouldn’t count on that lasting very long, as Lake Martin is a place that Smith has plenty of knowledge and should set up right in his wheelhouse.

Solid secondary selection: If there’s any question as to how much knowledge Russ Lane has about Lake Martin, he said on stage at Lake Guntersville that he’ll be sleeping in his own bed at Lake Martin. The veteran angler should be able to mix in both spots and largemouth to have success.

BUCKET E: WAGNER

It’s safe to assume that Emil Wagner wasn’t thrilled about his finish at Lake Guntersville, but the second stop at Lake Martin should be the perfect location for a rebound event. The Georgia pro is a spotted bass expert and should have no problem figuring it out at Lake Martin, a place where he finished 27th in the 2024 Open.

Solid secondary selection: In our “Predicting each rookie’s best Elite finish in 2026” article, I suggested that Sam Hanggi’s best event would be at Lake Martin. I’m sticking to that and saying he’ll have a great event.