There’s a different element of strategy in just about every sort of tournament. In a local jackpot, anglers may have to weigh the benefits of starting on the juice versus revealing their best spot. In a multi-day event, competitors have to guess how little or how much to ration fish, where the rest of the field may or may not apply the most pressure, or if they should stop someplace for a quick limit or chase five big ones right out of the gate. The bite is why we fish, but if tournament fishing was easy and simple, it wouldn’t be nearly as much fun.

In 2025, Tackle Warehouse Invitationals pros will play under a new set of rules meant to level the playing field between forward-facing sonar and more traditional tactics. In addition to a few minor equipment restrictions, the big change is that forward-facing and 360-degree sonar will not be permitted on Day 2 of each event, which could dramatically alter what it takes to be successful. So, we caught up with a few pros who’ll need to figure out what to change, or not change, as they approach the 2025 season.

First reactions

Steve Lopez and some others aren’t too concerned about the exact rules they’re playing under. Photo by Hunter Rud.

Though the topic of forward-facing sonar has on occasion been contentious, for the folks actually planning on fishing the Invitationals, the new rules are pretty much just that – rules. Love it or hate it, you’re fishing under them regardless.

“I’m totally fine with it. I’m one of those anglers, just give me the rules and I’ll play,” said Kyle Cortiana. “I’ve got a lot more years without (forward-facing sonar) than I do with it. For me, I think it’s kind of cool. I like the fact that they let us have it on Day 1, so you’re not going into Day 2 completely blind. You can absorb a lot of information on Day 1 using the technology and use that on Day 2.”

Steve Lopez is perhaps more ready for the new rules than anyone and sounds downright excited for the challenge.

“A lot of people on social media do not like change — they just like five fish, eight hours, that’s what it should be,” said the Wisconsin pro. “I don’t mind the company trying different things until they figure out what works. So, I thought it was a cool change. You meet the needs of some fans who do not like forward-facing sonar and some fans that do. I think it brings out huge strategy in certain tournaments. As aspiring professionals and professionals, I don’t think a sport should be easy. There should be some change to it, a strategy to it, so I like the change.”

Raised on ledge fishing on the Tennessee River before forward-facing sonar changed the game, Blake Hall is ready to see a little more shine on old standards.

“Just two years ago, it seemed like (forward-facing) was just a smallmouth thing, maybe Dale Hollow in the winter,” he said. “The last year or two, it’s a factor almost everywhere – the last two Okeechobee tournaments were won on it. At the best grass fisheries in the world, Sam Rayburn and Guntersville, it’s dominant. I see both sides; I definitely think it was going in the wrong direction and something needed to be done, I don’t think an all-out ban was the way to go. I’m happy they’re addressing the issue and attempting to do something about it, but you can’t make everyone happy no matter what you do.”

Picking apart the strategy

Connor Cunningham expects the new rules to have some big strategy implications. Photo by Matt Brown.

We probably won’t know the ideal strategy for a ‘Scope on/‘Scope off tournament in 2025, and maybe not even in 2026 – these things take some time to figure out. But, right out of the gate, everybody has been thinking about how to approach practice and the events.

“I’m going to be a third-year guy, but some of these lakes I’ve never been to before,” said Connor Cunningham, who won an All-American on topwater and has since developed an affinity for live sonar. “So, I have to utilize the whole entire practice, daylight ‘til dark. And even that seems like it’s not enough time. Now I feel like I have to split my practice between utilizing forward-facing sonar and fishing old school.

“This year is a prime example. I really, really focused on learning forward-facing. In the last two years, I’ve focused on it, and it really seems like I’m starting to catch on. I feel like you have to check the forward-facing stuff, and then now, you’re going to have to try to find another winning pattern fishing old school. I just feel like three days is going to be pretty tight for a person that’s never been to some of these waters.”

Cortiana isn’t especially concerned about the mass of variables but agreed that having something good figured out for Day 2 is better than winging it.

“You can do it however you want, but I think it’s kind of smart to have some fish where you don’t need (Lowrance ActiveTarget) or want it or depend on it,” he said. “Whatever that is – flipping docks, running wind breaks, a shad spawn. If you have fish that you don’t need it or try to find fish where you don’t want ActiveTarget, I think it’s a good idea. To be honest, I think if you could find fish on a pattern that didn’t need it, I think that could be hugely beneficial.”

One thing that Cunningham brought up is the idea that younger anglers who have relied heavily on forward-facing sonar will struggle. In his opinion, that won’t be the case.

“I think it’s harder to be someone like I was two years ago, who was a pretty decent shallow, no-‘Scope fisherman, to have to ignore that side of things,” Cunningham said. “I would know that I could go catch a good bag on the bank, but then I had to re-learn the way that you fish and just go all-in on the ‘Scope. I had to leave those fish alone that I knew I could go catch to catch bigger ones with forward-facing methods. I think that’s a lot harder to do than someone that is a ‘Scoper and is just going to have to shut it off. Because they know what fish do. They’ve been watching them for the last three or four years. They know what they do in certain situations, and they’re going to be just fine.”

Cunningham has also been mulling another interesting theory: for anglers who are local to the event, having a day without forward-facing sonar could be a boon.

“I feel like it really increases the chances for a local to really, really have a big advantage on that non-forward-facing day,” said the Missouri pro. “We’re not coming to Table Rock, but if we were, you would have to spend all three practice days looking for those bigger fish out in the middle of pockets, out in the middle of the lake to ‘Scope, because that’s what’s going to win the tournament.

“But for me as a local, I feel like I would have a huge advantage because if we came there in March, April, that time frame. I would be able to spend all three of my days looking for open water fish that could be anywhere. And then, on the non-forward-facing day, I could go hit all the normal banks that I would hit with the Wiggle Wart or a jerkbait or something like that. Whereas someone that’s coming in that’s never been to the lake, they’re gonna have to try to find both of those.”

This year’s schedule could lessen the learning curve

Given the right circumstances, deciding how much to rely on forward-facing sonar might not be too difficult. Photo by Garrett Davidson.

One thing that every pro brought up is the fact that, for the 2025 season, most of the schedule presents a lot of opportunities for anglers to eschew forward-facing sonar. With no St. Clair or wintertime Sam Rayburn in the mix, we could see a year much more like the 2023 season, when shallow-water experts like Ron Nelson, Matthew Stefan and Keith Carson knocked it out of the park.

“I think our schedule next year, outside of maybe one or two tournaments, sets up good to not use it,” Hall said. “My strengths are other things besides ‘Scope. I’m going to try not to use it, but I will if I have too, I guess. The first tournament of the year at Florida, you can definitely do good without it there.

“Hartwell, mid-March, I would say half the Top 10 won’t be using it there. Smith Lake, it will definitely be a factor, but mid-April is a time of year when the fish are really spread out – there will be a lot shallow you can catch other ways.”

Cortiana has roughly the same theory on the schedule.

“At the Kissimmee Chain, you don’t have to have it; nobody is going to sweat that one,” he said. “Hartwell, you’re typically going to want it. Smith Lake, you’re going to want it. But, both of those could be bed-fishing tournaments, too. I would say the St. Lawrence might be the hardest, but you can just commit to drifting on the St. Lawrence. I feel like where it’s going to negatively affect the field the most is Smith or Hartwell.”

Lopez is also looking forward to a diverse schedule.

“Strategy-wise, I think it will depend on the time of year and the lake,” he said. “At Smith, lots of checks are made on forward-facing sonar, but it hasn’t been won recently in a Toyota Series event. So, it’ll depend on the event – obviously Major League Fishing added some diversity in the schedule.”

One thing is for sure: In the championship on the Mississippi River in September, there should be plenty of chances to keep the graphs off and put fish in the boat. With a famous frog bite and lot of shallow water, there aren’t many places where a tournament will look more old-school than the Big Muddy.