In the simplest of terms, Forward Facing Sonar is a glorified fish-finder that has expanded the scope of view for those taking advantage of it. How it works is a completely different story though in terms of the amazing technology leveraged to build these revolutionary devices.  

Think of it this way - Forward Facing Sonar is not too unlike the echolocation awareness technique our porpoise friends use to navigate open waters. Using a transducer device, which can transform one type of energy to another, sound waves are emitted that bounce off structures, fish, and obstacles to then be returned in the shape of visual information anglers can use to better position themselves for strikes. This technology gives fishermen a real-time, live view of the water in front of an around their boat. 

Normally, anglers will fix this device to their trolling motor, giving them the opportunity to move it side to side so as to receive a wider view of the water around them and ultimately understand more about their fishing locations.   

• Finesse Fishing – Finesse fishing takes patience and a the most attractive presentation but with Forward Facing Sonar, you are more easily able to target specific fish with the sonar and see how they are reacting to your setup much quicker. This allows you to adjust your presentation more frequently if needed.   

• Vertical Jigging – Like a traditional fish-finder, Forward Facing Sonar can be used to target fish near the bottom of the water when vertical jigging but elevates your potential a step further by providing information around fish hiding out in the water column as well. 

• Trolling – Using Forward Facing Sonar while trolling allows you to continuously adjust depth and pull speed based on what the sonar is showing to ensure you are staying in the strike zone for longer.  

With the use of Forward Facing Sonar becoming more popular in the angling industry, we are sure you’ve heard many companies talk about specific lures designed and built for FFS specifically – but what does that really mean?  

Even if you were to spot a school of fish on your radar, there are a lot of variables and questions when it comes to a lure that can determine whether the fish are even interested or not – Can I get my lure there? Is it lifelike enough? Does it show up well?  How are fish reacting to it? Well Forward Facing Sonar is starting to take the guess work out of it.  

A lure that is optimized for Forward Facing Sonar means that it has been specifically designed to show up on the FFS monitors so you can more accurately track your bait and reaction to it. Previously, baits would seldom show up on a radar giving anglers no reference point to learn from.  

Working on your FFS optimized set up? Check out these FFS Optimized Baits by Berkley and the Forward Briad Line to pair with them.  

• Forward Facing: The obvious and most significant benefit of Forward Facing Sonar is right there in the name. It’s forward-facing, allowing anglers to now see beyond just what’s below their boat. 

• Water Column Fish: FFS allows you to find fish that have previously gone unnoticed, including those that are suspended in the water column. The days of pure bottom fishing are behind us.  

• Bait Observation: FFS allows anglers to observe bait movement and placement to generate more strikes. It is now possible to watch your bait descent and see just what fish do in those vital moments.  

• Reduction in Loss Bait: FFS gives anglers the opportunity to spot structures and obstacles they would probably cast into normally, resulting in fewer snags and less lures lost to the water. 

• Smarter Fishing: FFS helps individuals to fish smarter and more efficiently with the ability to quickly deem an area of water fishable or dead so as not to waste any time or casts. 

• Environmental Understanding: When you are able to see more under the water, you are able to understand more about your favorite fishing locations and what they have to offer. 

• Expensive: While effective, Foward Facing Sonar comes at a high price that may not be suitable for the everyday angler. 

• Controversial: In professional circles, there is much debate on this technological advancement and whether it should be permited into tournaments or deemed cheating or unfair. 

• Offshore Efficiency: While it does work in offshore environments, the transducer needs objects to bounce sound waves off and can only transmit so far which poses limitation in deep water. 

• Learning Curve: Many people find the display and readings difficult to discern at first and requires many trips to start fully understanding the information on the screen.  

Witness how Forward Facing Sonar imaging works in a real time display as Emil on the Berkley Pro Staff pulls in a mean lunker on the Powerbait® Power® Switch.

That’s one small step for man, and one large leap for anglers everywhere. At least that is how it felt when Berkley Labs took to the Houston Space Center to launch their lineup of lures optimized for Forward Facing Sonar. Rooted in science, Berkley Labs recognizes that FFS goes far beyond just catching fish but also will help study environments and how these fish interact with everything around them. With that information at their disposal, Berkley brought forward specialized lures that have all proven highly suited for this technology.