Performance boating tips for bass anglers

Triton 21 HP Running.jpg Well-designed and properly set up high performance rigs like the Triton 21-HP are easy to drive at speed, but there's a learning curve for beginning operators.

For those of us who have been running high-performance bass boats for decades, it all seems pretty obvious. But spend a Sunday on a busy lake like Guntersville or Lewis Smith and you'll soon see that a lot of folks could use a short course in the basic operation of planing hulls.

The first lesson is that just because you have the $60,000 required to buy a top-end bassing rig, you don't necessarily have the capability to drive that rig as fast as it can run. It ain't like driving your Escalade down I-65.

Bass boat companies that have survived long-term like Triton and Ranger have fine-tuned their hull designs and engine-mounting techniques to the point where the boats are easy to drive, to be sure, and 70 mph speeds are not unsafe once you learn the basics. But it's not simply a matter of starting the outboard and hitting the throttle.

Most bassing rigs plane at somewhere between 2500 and 3000 rpms, and to get on plane, you start with the motor trimmed fully down. If it's trimmed up at all, the engine will try to push the stern of the boat down, which is the opposite of what you need it to do to get on plane. If you have a hydraulic jackplate, it should also be well down so the prop gets a good bite on the water.

Best way to come out of the hole is quickly; make sure all is clear ahead, that you've got adequate depth under the prop, and advance the throttle or step on the Hotfoot to at least ¾ wide open. Coming out of the hole slow is a bad idea: The bow will rise and stay there for as long as it takes to level off--and during that time, you have little or no view of what's ahead of the boat.

As soon as the boat comes on full plane--that is the bow drops to run level--you can hit the trim switch and start trimming the motor up.

As soon as the bow starts to rock, you've trimmed a bit too much. Back off slightly and the boat will level out and become stable--you're at the right trim for the rpms you're running.

There's an optimum rpm and trim position for every speed, but these can vary with wave conditions and with the number of passengers aboard. Maybe your boat runs 45 to 50 mph at 4500 rpms when you're trimmed a third of the way up with just you on board. But add a 250 pound fishing buddy and you'll need to reduce trim to keep the boat level at the same rpms, and you'll probably have to increase rpms slightly to reach the same speed--the further down in the water the prop is tilted, the more drag it creates and the less top end speed is available.

Somewhere around 55 to 60 mph and approaching maximum trim on most rigs, aerodynamic forces come into play and the boat may get a bit light on its feet--this is where some less-experienced drivers run into trouble, because a bit of rolling from side to side--known as "chine walking"--can quickly increase and cause the boat to get out of control. On a well set-up boat and motor package, you may not experience this issue at all, but on very light, shallow hulls with lots of power, it can take some real skill to control.

Trimming slightly down will take the tendency to chine walk out of most boats. You won't go quite as fast, but you remain in safe control. Of course, if you trim down too much at a given rpm, the bow drops and the boat begins to "bow-steer", which can be equally dangerous as the hull tends to slew off to the side when it hits a wave.

It's all a matter of increasing speed and trim gradually as your feel for the boat grows; modern, well-rigged bass boats are safe--and fast--in getting you to the fish, but they do take a bit of care when you're learning the ropes.