There’s no more divisive piece of equipment in bass fishing than forward-facing sonar.
Depending on whom you ask, technology like Garmin LiveScope is either one of the greatest tools ever handed to an angler or the thing that’s sucking the fun and skill out of fishing.
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Cooper Gallant sees both sides.
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Bassmaster Elite Series pro Cooper Gallant hit the water with OutKick OutDoors on Missouri’s Table Rock Lake. (Amber Harding Snyder)
The Bassmaster Elite Series pro certainly isn’t anti-technology. He uses LiveScope, knows how valuable it can be and understands that, at his level, refusing to adapt isn’t really an option.
But is fishing actually more fun without it?
Yeah, maybe.
B.A.S.S. flips a coin to determine LiveScope use in 2027
The timing of Gallant’s comments is especially interesting now that we know exactly when Elite Series anglers will — and won’t — have access to the technology next season.
B.A.S.S. revealed the results of its 2027 live-sonar coin flips Tuesday, and perhaps the most intriguing result is Lake St. Clair. When the Elite Series visits the famed smallmouth fishery Aug. 5-8, forward-facing sonar will be prohibited.
That’s notable because St. Clair has become closely associated with the electronics-driven techniques that have transformed modern smallmouth fishing. It’ll also be the eighth event of the season, with Angler of the Year points and Bassmaster Classic qualification increasingly important.
The coin also determined that live sonar will be allowed at the 2027 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell, while the 2028 Classic will be contested without it.
Gallant will have to compete under both sets of rules next season. And while he’s certainly not giving up his electronics when they’re allowed, he admitted there’s something to be said for fishing without them.
Cooper Gallant says fishing can be more fun without LiveScope
Gallant gave me a crash course in LiveScope while we were fishing Table Rock Lake in Missouri last week.
Watch the full video here:
For those who don’t know, forward-facing sonar allows anglers to see what’s happening beneath the water in real time. Instead of simply casting toward a promising spot and hoping there’s a fish hanging around, an angler can use the technology to locate fish and even watch how they react to a lure.
“This transducer basically shoots wherever my trolling motor is facing,” Gallant explained. “I have it set at 120 feet, so I can see 120 feet out in front of me.”
Fish, trees, rocks — whatever is down there, he can see it. And, more importantly, he can see what the fish does next.
“You can see your bait, you can see the fish react to your bait,” he said. “It’s all in real time.”
Cooper Gallant explains how forward-facing sonar technology helps him locate fish. (Amber Harding Snyder)
That’s obviously incredibly useful when you’re trying to make a living catching bass. It’s also a heck of a time-saver.
Of course, not every tournament allows LiveScope. So I asked Gallant whether fishing without all that technology feels like a welcome challenge or a daunting task.
Turns out, he actually enjoys it.
“I think sometimes without it, it’s more fun,” Gallant said. “There’s more unknown. You don’t know if there’s a fish there, and when you get a bite, it’s more of a surprise.”
That’s a pretty interesting admission from someone who competes at the highest level of a sport that has spent the past several years arguing about this exact technology.
Without LiveScope, you might know you’re fishing a good-looking spot. You might have a pretty good idea there are bass nearby. But you don’t get to watch the whole thing unfold on a screen before the bite ever happens.
Gallant isn’t saying he’d throw his electronics overboard. Far from it.
“It’s incredible technology,” he said.
A trophy 10-pound largemouth bass fights a minnow imitation lure. (Doug Stamm/stammphoto.com)
He’s simply acknowledging something plenty of recreational anglers probably understand. The most efficient way to catch a fish isn’t necessarily the most fun way to catch one.
Sometimes there’s something to be said for chucking a lure into the water and having absolutely no idea what’s about to happen.
LiveScope isn’t going anywhere in professional bass fishing
Of course, Gallant doesn’t have the luxury of approaching every day on the water like a casual Sunday fishing trip with a novice like me.
For professional anglers, technology is part of the job.
And when I asked him about some veteran anglers’ reluctance to embrace forward-facing sonar, he was sympathetic — to a point.
“I think the older generation, they’re just hesitant to learn it,” Gallant said. “But it’s just like anything. The sport evolves.”
And so does the technology.
The next goal for Cooper Gallant is to win an iconic Bassmaster blue trophy. (Courtesy of Monster Energy)
Gallant said younger anglers may have an advantage simply because many of them grew up learning to fish with advanced electronics. But for anyone trying to compete at the highest level, ignoring that evolution isn’t much of an option.
“You have to learn it, or you’re going to get left behind,” he said.
That’s not a new position for Gallant, either. Before the 2025 Elite Series season, he wrote for Bassmaster that professional anglers had to adopt forward-facing sonar when LiveScope arrived to avoid falling behind their competition.
Still, B.A.S.S. has spent the past year experimenting with what competition looks like when anglers don’t have access to it.
COOPER GALLANT SLEPT IN HIS TRUCK FOR YEARS CHASING PRO FISHING DREAM: ‘I DIDN’T HAVE A PLAN B’
In 2026, the organization introduced a split format for the Elite Series, with forward-facing sonar permitted at five of nine regular-season tournaments and prohibited at the other four. Lake Guntersville, where FFS was prohibited, became the most-watched Elite event of the regular season with more than 21 million minutes viewed across B.A.S.S. digital platforms. The St. Lawrence River finale, where anglers could use FFS, was second with more than 20 million minutes viewed.
B.A.S.S. apparently liked the balance.
The organization announced last month that the 50/50 format will return for 2027, with Tuesday’s coin flip determining which events land on which side. For the first time, the Bassmaster Classic is getting the same treatment: One flip will determine whether forward-facing sonar is allowed at the 2027 Classic, with the opposite rules automatically applying in 2028.
Now we know how that split will look in 2027.
Live sonar will be permitted at Lake Okeechobee, Lake Fork, Santee Cooper Lakes, the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway and the Mississippi River. It will be prohibited at Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, the Sabine River, Lake Seminole and Lake St. Clair.
And for the first time, the Classic will join the experiment. Live sonar will be allowed at the 2027 Bassmaster Classic on Lake Hartwell, while the technology will be banned at the 2028 Classic, regardless of where that tournament is ultimately held.
Cooper Gallant is a four-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier. (Courtesy of Monster Energy)
It’s an interesting compromise for a sport still figuring out exactly how much technology it wants at its highest level.
And Gallant’s perspective might be a pretty good summary of the whole debate.
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LiveScope can make you more efficient. It can show you fish you might never have known were there. At the professional level, learning how to use it can be the difference between keeping up and getting left behind.
But take it away?
And hey, you might just have a little more fun.
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