Anderson: Is it muskie fishing, or muskie cheating? With new sonar gadget, it’s hard to tell.

Freeze-up was a couple of weeks away when Josh Stevenson and I launched his boat recently, looking for a muskie. Tricking one of these toothy behemoths into munching a lure or bait would, we knew, end our season on a happy note, with months of lake and river ice approaching.

Dressed more like deer hunters than anglers, Stevenson and I were as comfortable as we could be, given that a cloud hangs over the sport of muskie fishing these days, not only in Minnesota and Wisconsin, but throughout the U.S. and Canada.

Or is muskie fishing even a sport anymore?

“If you’re using your knowledge of muskies and understanding of their behavior in different lakes and rivers at different times of the season, and applying that knowledge in your pursuit of muskies, there’s no greater challenge in all of fishing,’’ Stevenson said. “But if you’re just driving around a lake, watching a video screen, or multiple video screens, until you see a muskie on one of the screens, and then you cast until that fish eats or seeks refuge in deeper water, well, that’s not fair to the fish, and it’s not a sport.’’

At issue is forward-facing sonar (FFS), a revolution in fishing technology that can locate fish up to 100 feet from a boat (or ice fishing hole).

I’m not alone in believing FFS could doom muskie fishing, and perhaps other types of fishing, especially crappie fishing. “Panfishing,” which includes crappie fishing, is Minnesota’s most popular type of angling, and FFS can exponentially increase crappie-catching rates, especially in winter.

But it’s muskies that are already suffering from the increasingly widespread use of FFS, turning the pursuit of these trophies from one that historically has required 10,000 casts to one, as Stevenson says, that requires only “10,000 cash.”

A muskie guide who also owns Blue Ribbon Bait in Oakdale, Stevenson is hesitant to speak out against FFS. He has friends and customers whose boats are outfitted with the gadgets, and his guiding livelihood depends on serving anglers who are willing to pursue muskies without the aid of FFS.

“If anglers knew how much they are robbing themselves of potential knowledge about fishing by just watching a video screen, they might not do it,’’ he said.

Increasingly, others in the muskie business also are going public about concerns for the fishery. It’s true, they say, that most muskies are released after being caught. But so relatively few of these outsized fish inhabit Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes and rivers that their populations can’t withstand higher angler catch rates thanks to FFS.

Additionally, FFS contributes to more muskies being caught and retrieved from deep water, potentially increasing their chances of dying after release.

“I don’t think the muskie fishery can be sustained the way things are going,” said Brad Hoppe of Parkers Prairie, Minn., a semi-retired muskie guide who with his wife, Carrie, owns Musky Mayhem, a leading muskie tackle innovator and manufacturer.

FFS has its place, Hoppe said, and can help anglers refine casts and retrieval speeds of specific lures, so the lures can be deployed as intended.

“But muskie stocking in Minnesota has seen a downturn, which is affecting muskie fishing here,” he said. “Add to that the more often these fish are being touched due to the higher catch rates resulting from forward-facing sonar, and the more mortality there is.”

Two developments compound FFS’ negative effect on muskies.

One is that muskie fishing in Mille Lacs is far less productive now than in the 1990s. Hugely popular among muskie anglers of that era, the slump prompted a dispersal of perhaps thousands of muskie anglers to other Minnesota and Wisconsin lakes, increasing pressure on muskies in those waters.

Another is social media’s effect on fishing.

“A lot of inflated egos exist in the muskie world,” said Scott Kieper, a former teacher who has guided full-time for muskies in the Hayward, Wis., area for 25 years. “Their egos puts a forward-facing sonar unit on the bow of their boats and another unit on each side their boats. Then when they catch a muskie, they post it online. I don’t use FFS and I never will. To me, it’s a video game. That’s all it is.”

Like Stevenson, Kieper believes it’s important to teach clients not only about muskie fishing, but about muskie conservation.

“When you teach a person about muskies and how to fish for them, and particularly how to handle and release them when you catch them, you’re promoting the sport of fishing,’’ he said. “When you teach them how to turn on a machine and drive around a lake looking for fish, you teach them nothing.”

Given a choice between guides who use FFS and ask clients to cast only when a fish is located on a screen, and guides who ask clients to repeatedly cast to places where muskies might lurk, some anglers opt for the former easier option, further causing a rift among guides.

“I learned to fish muskies in Detroit Lakes,” said Ryan Crosby, a muskie guide who now lives in Fall Creek, Wis. “As recently as a couple of years ago I wanted to be someone in the muskie fishing industry. But what it’s coming to, I want no part of. Using FFS is cheating, pure and simple. Yes, it’s a struggle to cast 10,000 times or whatever it takes to catch a muskie. But that’s what’s rewarding, the hunt.”

The fishing industry’s influence with policymakers likely means FFS won’t be outlawed by natural resources agencies. The growing popularity of FFS among everyday anglers also argues against a ban.

Yet some restrictions have been made. The Professional Musky Tournament Trail last year banned FFS from its competitions. Various bass fishing organizations this year will restrict boats to a single FFS unit, rather than the multiple units some contestants were deploying. And the national headquarters of Muskies Inc., addressing FFS use, urges anglers “to use common sense, be responsible, and apply the spirit of fair chase when fishing.”

And yet … more fish-finding gadgets are on the way.

Already, anglers can link augmented reality glasses to their FFS machines so fish locations can be projected directly onto their glasses.

And perhaps some day soon, tiny camera-carrying submarines will be developed so anglers can find muskies and other fish from the comfort of their cabin porches.

Already, drones are legal for some types of fishing in Florida.

Stevenson and I had no muskies to show for our efforts at the end of our recent outing. Still, we had a good day of fishing.

Said Stevenson: “If forward-facing sonar isn’t where we draw the line to save muskie fishing, and perhaps all of fishing, where is the line?”