Young Anglers Only Win Because of Forward-Facing Sonar: Myth Busted

The Ultimate Angler Championship Delivers on Its Promise

After a year of build-up, the Ultimate Angler Championship is done and appears to have been a genuine success. Big payouts, anglers from all tours, and a forward-facing sonar ban set the stage for one of the most anticipated bass tournaments in years.

A Unified Field and a Real Payday

I loved seeing anglers from all the various camps competing together. That in and of itself is a huge win and long overdue.

I loved the size of the grand prize. It’s about time professional bass tournaments started paying out like real professional sports. Congrats to the organization for figuring out how to make that happen.

No Forward-Facing Sonar Should Level the Field

A screen showing several social media posts saying that the young anglers can't catch fish without forward-facing sonar — I can only assume all of these posters from a year ago have all posted retractions now, right? | facebook.com/tacklewarehouse

However, there was one other thing that stood out when this event was first announced. This was going to be a “real” bass tournament competition with no forward-facing sonar allowed.

Finally we were going to see a return to what real fishing was like. Those kids and their “cheater box” video game fishing would be forced to use experience, instincts and raw senses to dissect the water.

This has been one of the main talking points shared by the anti-FFS crowd across all fishing leagues. Using the scope is like cheating and that’s the only reason these new kids keep winning tournaments.

To be clear, I support that the Ultimate Angler Championship decided to have a tournament without FFS. It was genuinely a smart business and marketing move to tout that point of differentiation. And since everyone who entered was aware of that rule, that’s perfectly fair.

The Ultimate Angler Championship Just Shattered the Forward-Facing Sonar Debate

Tucker Smith on stage receiving the novelty check for $500,000 — 24-year old Tucker Smith took home the $500,000 prize. | TheUltimateAngler.org

So, who ended up winning the $500,000 no forward-facing tournament? Bassmaster Elite Series Rookie of the Year, 24-year old, Tucker Smith. He couldn’t be a better example of the kind of angler that all the negative FFS chatter is about. Smith has proven over the past couple years that he is an absolute assassin with forward-facing sonar. But the fact is he’s just an amazingly talented, incredibly hard working, analytical angler who has put in the reps, and is a threat to win any time he’s on the water, with or without forward-facing sonar.

The New Generation of Anglers Is Here, and That's Good

And he’s not the only one. The last several years of rookie classes are stacked with fish-catching monsters. I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time in the boat with several of them. While I’m always amazed at what they’re able to do with the technology, I’m equally amazed with their level of overall knowledge of bass behavior, tournament strategy and mental toughness.

What the Industry Should Learn From This Tournament

But what should this mean to the entire bass tournament industry? Are other leagues paying attention to this result and keeping it in mind as they make decisions about the future of the sport? This Ultimate Angler Championship has produced some great new data. It feels like it’s time to at least end the part of the argument that says these young guys are only winning because of FFS. The data just doesn’t support it.