By Louie Stout
As tournament directors put together their schedules for 2026, I’m curious to see if any have the will to at least partially limit the use of forward-facing sonar (FFS).
That’s what pro circuits are doing and for good reason.
Full disclosure – I have it and use it, but you probably won’t see me sitting in the middle of the abys and throwing at dots on a screen. FFS is a tremendous tool for fishing structure the old school way, but it also puts those without the technology at a disadvantage.
Based upon what I saw last year, several tournaments on many Michiana lakes were dominated by anglers who trolled around and only cast at dots they see on their electronics screen.
By limiting FFS, anglers who prefer to fish traditional methods or those who don’t have the technology would have a better chance.
Otherwise, these tournaments are headed to becoming scoping contests and, like the cliché says, “If you’re not scopin’, you’re hopin’.”
Big bass programs
Arkansas has started an “Arkansas Legacy Lunker Program” that is like the Texas’ ShareLunker Program. Both are designed to encourage angers to donate their big bass to the state agencies.
Fish agencies utilize giant bass to create genetically superior offspring with the intentions of creating bass fry for stocking in some lakes to create fish that grow to bigger sizes.
The minimum size for Texas is 13 pounds or bigger while Arkansas is accepting 10 pounds or bigger. When an angler catches one and keeps in his livewell, he calls the agency and they come pick it up and take it to a special hatchery facility.
Now, I know neither Indiana nor Michigan have the resources or the interest in such a program for our largemouth, but it would be so cool if something similar could be developed for smallmouth and even walleyes. (I’m sure my state biologists friends are cringing, but I still think it would be neat to try something like that.)
Cougar numbers growing
Do you remember hearing about cougar sightings in Michiana years ago? The DNR pooh-poohed the idea, and honestly, there was never a cougar confirmed or spotted on a trail camera around here.
Well, that sure isn’t the case in upper Michigan. The DNR reports that they have a record number of confirmed sightings, mostly in the upper peninsula.
There have been 26 so far this year with a month to go. The state has confirmed 161 sightings since 2008.
The Michigan DNR believes the increase in sightings is due to the popularity of trail cameras being used in northern counties.