Forward Facing Sonar Ban

The founder of a popular charity bass tournament benefiting children’s hospitals recently announced a rule change for the upcoming 2024 event that has grabbed the attention of the fishing community and stirred some debate among anglers who enjoy casting for cash.

At the heart of the debate is forward-facing sonar (FFS), and Randy Despino’s decision to prohibit the use of the technology in the Despino’s Tire Service “Fishing for Kids” team bass tournament set for March 9 on Toledo Bend Reservoir.

It may be the first bass tournament of its size to ban FFS since the technology evolved in 2018. It’s a pretty bold move.

Around 2005, Despino’s annual benefit tournament started with 55 entries on the Red River and grew to 262 teams on Toledo Bend in 2023.

The pay days and charity donations have blossomed right along with it. First place pays $20,000, down to $2,500 for 5th — not bad or a $260 entry fee and a day of fishing. Despino says the event has raised more than $280,000 for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals over the last eight years.

His first tournament raised $6,000 for charity. Last year’s event raised $53,000.

GETTING TO KNOW FFS

For those who may not know, FFS is all the rage these days in tournament and recreational fishing arenas. It has given fishermen eyes beneath the water like none they have ever had before.

FFS functions using a special transducer, usually mounted to the trolling motor shaft or an independent pole. The transducer captures real-time imagery of what is going on in the water column around the boat and transmits the data to an electronics screen for viewing in crisp detail.

One of the big benefits FFS junkies always rave about it helps trained eyes detect fish and cover from a considerable distance.

Another is efficiency. The technology allows for making precise bait presentations to fish and, more importantly, seeing how they react as a bait moves through the water column. In many cases, anglers can actually watch as a fish charges the bait and eats it. Or hightails it the opposite direction.

FFS usually leaves little question as to whether or not fish are present when a cast is made. If the fish move, anglers can quickly adjust. Sometimes it’s possible to hound an individual fish with different baits until it bites. It’s cool stuff.

Many tournament anglers have gotten pretty crafty with FFS. Some are so skilled with it they can determine the mood of a fish by how it reacts to the lure, and identify the species and size of the fish before making the first cast.

Effective as it is, FFS has been placed in the crosshairs of critics more than once. Social media has provided a platform for throwing fuel on the fire.

Some have compared FFS usage to hunting deer behind high fences with a spot light. Others believe it should be banned in competitive fishing events, because it takes away some of the inherent challenges of the sport and puts anglers who can’t afford it, or aren’t savvy with it, at high risk of getting schooled by those who are. “It just ain’t fair,” some say.

I’m not so sure about all of that. Though it does provide a wealth of advantages not available with previous electronics technologies like 2D, SideScan and DownScan, FFS is hardly a bolt-on success.

It takes time and a wealth of patience to get good with it. Some guys catch on quickly. Others get frustrated and never do. It’s been a blessing for some anglers. A time-wasting nemesis for others.

Can you still catch fish without it? Most certainly.

Like everything else in the boat, FFS is a tool. More and more anglers these days are making the decision that it is a tool they would rather not be without.

DESPINO SPEAKS: FSS IS OUT

Despino, 62, is a professional angler from Colfax, Louisiana who has been reaping the benefits of FFS for a while now. In fact, he says about 70% of $140,000 he has banked in tournament winnings over the last two years is owed to the technology.

Like most, Despino believes trying to compete in a modern tournament without FFS is an automatic handicap. More often than not, things probably aren’t going to end well, he said.

“If you’re fishing a tournament and FFS is allowed you had better have it turned on and know how to use it if you are going to compete,” he said. “It’s been that big of a game changer in the sport. If you don’t learn it and get it dialed in you just aren’t going to be competitive. That’s just the way it is.”

It is interesting that Despino has stepped to the plate and elected to ban the use of FFS in his company’s 18th annual tournament this spring. He thinks the decision is in the best interest of the event so it will continue to grow and ultimately raise more money in the future for such a great cause.

“I thought about it a lot and talked to plenty of people before I made the decision,” Despino said. “This is a benefit tournament, and I believe in the coming future of our tournament that it's best to eliminate the use of FFS. We’ve got some of the best bass anglers in the country around here. They can use it in practice all they want. But come tournament day every FFS transducer has to be unplugged.”

Despino pointed out that anglers will be allowed to use traditional 2D, DownScan, SideScan and Humminbird 360 technologies during tournament hours.

A slew of social media posts have surfaced since Despino announced the rule change on December 1. Not surprisingly, some anglers have applauded the change. Others have denounced it.

“I’ve heard all of the good and bad comments about it,” Despino said. “But it will all come out in the wash. We’ve got an excellent, 100% pay back. At the end of the day the fishermen are still going to come and try to win that money. They’re coming.”

Matt Williams is a freelance outdoors writer based in Nacogdoches, Tx. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@ yahoo.com.