Mark Daniels Jr. is a well-known and popular professional bass angler who competes on the Major League Fishing circuit. In his recent 21-minute YouTube video, MDJ explains why he thinks forward-facing sonar (FFS) has ruined bass tournament fishing.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you understand the controversy surrounding FFS. I’ve been following it closely both personally and professionally.

FYI: My passion for fishing is every bit as strong as my one for hunting, and each year I spend more of my personal time fishing than I do hunting — and I hunt A LOT! On the work side of the equation (writer/editor in the outdoor industry, approaching 30 years), I’ve watched the topic of FFS literally tear apart the sport of fishing.

For what it’s worth, my opinion on FFS aligns closely with that of MDJ. He doesn’t cover this issue specifically by name, but I see it as a fair chase problem. In my opinion, the chase itself isn’t fair when FFS is used. Period. With FFS, the odds are tilted too far in an angler’s favor.

It’ll continue to be interesting to see how the top-tier professional bass organizations deal with the FFS controversy. The leadership of top-tier musky tournaments banned it early. Sure, many musky guides use FFS, and anglers are free to use it for personal fishing, but you won’t see it used in big tournaments.

The leadership of walleye and crappie tournaments have allowed FFS without restrictions, and it’s changed the game. It depends on where you stand on the issue to determine whether the change has been good or bad for walleye events.

In bass fishing, the NPFL (National Professional Fishing League) has an outright ban on the use of FFS during competition. Major League Fishing as well as Bassmaster (both circuits are much larger and have been around far longer than the NPFL) have tried to please anglers on both sides of the controversy by issuing rules that allow FFS some of the time each day on the water and/or in some events.

Regardless of where you stand on the FFS issue, one statement is certainly true when it comes to tournaments: It’s a mess!