Jack plates and trim tabs in a bass boat My second bass boat was a small Skeeter with a 75 HP Mercury outboard motor. I had graduated up from a 16' aluminum Bass Tracker boat with a 25 HP Mercury. The first time I put the Skeeter in the water, as I slowly pulled away from the marina into open water, I pushed the throttle down and the bow rose straight up out of the water and the stern settled down into like a hole, leaving me vertical instead of horizontal. I quickly backed off on the throttle and leveled out...a case of bad "hole shot". Next, I trimmed the motor as close as I could possibly jam it into the transom and tried again. Better, but not perfect. Could a jack plate helped me out? One bass boat angler owner replied, "I would at least get trim tabs they make it easy to correct for different loads and make it easier to get on a plane quickly. I especially wouldn't get the jack plate without trim tabs." Another reply was, "The jack plate is a definite yes. A jack plate is nice when trying to get the boat on a plane in shallow water. With the engine jacked all the way up the boat should jump right up a plane." Let's explore just exactly what a jack plate and trim tabs are designed for. Jack plates - those add-on brackets, provide adjustability to your outboard engine trim, straight up and down. The jack plate enables you to run in shallower water than a standard engine mount. A jack plate definitely makes coming up on plane much simpler. Raise the jack plate all the way up. Then, apply full throttle with the wheel straight ahead. Once up on plane, you can lower the jack plate if necessary. Rather than the stern "squatting down" in the water initially, the way it would with a standard engine mount and the engine trimmed up, the stern moves forward as the jack plate allows the engine's thrust to work, keeping the prop high. As the boat starts to come over onto plane, the engine lowers to the proper level for high-speed cruising. Another big plus of a jack plate, especially in our world of high fuel prices, a jack plate also increases fuel efficiency. When you can channel thrust directly parallel to the surface of the water you waste less energy. Additionally, the lower drive unit, prop and skeg all create drag in the water. With a jack plate, you can raise the engine higher in the water column, thereby decreasing drag. Some boaters/anglers argue that you need the additional benefits of trim tabs. They say the tabs cut additional seconds off the time it takes to get up on plane. If you find yourself running into a head sea, extending your trim tabs to drop the bow some will make for a smoother ride. The sharp bow can slice through the water more readily than the flatter bottom farther aft. In my situation the jack plate would have definitely helped; trim tabs would not have been that beneficial for me. Do you rely on engine trim, or do you run with a jack plate and/or trim tabs?