I’ve relocated to Houston and will inevitably be fishing the Laguna Madre. So I’m trying to decide if I NEED a jackplate AND/OR remote cooling water pickup. She already runs almost as skinny as she can float, and floats skinnier than she can get on plane. Although she can get overheated if I trim up too much.
This is a non-tunnel HB Pro with 15" shaft Tohatsu 60 mounted on the highest holes, Transport CP50 cav plate, and Baumann 3 blade heavy cup prop.
The Lone Star contingent will add their .02, I’m sure. But based on my limited experience in LLM, I would say yes and yes to both.
I would advise to go run the boat along the Texas coast and see how limiting the current set up is before investing as you have a couple things going for you in the engine placement and prop. It’s the draft needed to get on plane which may limit you no matter what you add. The LLM has it’s own shallow water requirements and our resident shallow water setup expert @Smackdaddy53 can give you those answers.
Mac has seen way more boats than me so he is better suited to give you the most qualified answer.
I can tell you in 16 years of running a skiff on the Texas coast, a jack plate is a must.
To give you an idea, I have a Whipray non-tunnel and have a Tohatsu 50 short shaft mounted at the highest level on the jack plate, which is mounted on the highest level on the stern. I can get 5” of rise off the plate. The mid-line on my lower unit can be 1” above the bottom of the stern. This means my prop and skeg are only 6” below the surface trimmed down, trimmed up some I am running probably at 4 to 5”.
With a lower water pickup I’d be an airboat. My first skiff was a tunnel with a jack plate and I could run shallower than I could float - I knew when not to stop, which was 5” of water.
You have a compression plate and heavy cupped prop, and are mounted high. Snap a picture of your lower unit trimmed down at running level to see far under the bottom of the stern it goes. I bet you can run a few more inches higher for sure.
If you fish middle or lower coast you will be limiting where you can go. Lots of areas will be no-go unless you like chopping bottom and sanding that prop and sked down. There are guys that run no tunnel no jackplate but they can’t get to a lot of places. You should come fish with me and I can show you around.
When I moved to the LLM a little over three years ago I had a Skull Island (non-tunnel) set up with a jack plate, Mac’s LWPU, a compression plate, and a Foreman prop. It’d run pretty skinny. I’ve run that rig in 7" of water; I’m not sure how much shallower it’d run because I don’t like pushing my luck. But with a 10" diameter prop on that little 30 I needed over a foot of water to get up on plane. There was sooooo much water I wanted to explore that I wasn’t comfortable getting into. One area I fish now would involve several miles of idling to get out of with the old boat. There are literally miles-long stretches of water less than a foot deep in the LLM. There are also a lot of back lakes / tidal pools that are accessible for a well set up boat part of the year (and bone dry part of the year) that provide stellar fishing at times. You can fish some of the LLM without a jack plate, more of it with a jack plate, and even more with a compression plate and a heavily cupped prop. But without a tunnel you will still be unable to access large portions of it.
Mac can optimize your rig to get the most out of it, although it sounds like you’re well on the way. You will definitely want the LWPU and the jack plate to fish the LLM. But if you plan to fish down here a lot, I’d seriously consider getting a tunnel hull. I’ll be glad to take you out and show you around out of the Arroyo Colorado and Port Mansfield when you have the time to get down here. This is a truly awesome fishery, but other than the Brownsville Ship Channel and the ICW, it’s all very skinny water. I’m dealing with a family crisis right now and I have to be up in Conroe all next week, and possibly longer, but I’ll PM you my number. Feel free to call.
Maybe you have a short shaft and that’s why. But it looks like your engines bottomed out on the lowest mounting hole. I would think you would want it as high up as you can especially with a cuped prop, the plate and Texas. If you are going to go to the Jack plate route and you can wait then wait for the HMP. the BoB’s though a great product will be a tight squeez in there, heavy and 4’+ further back.
Since you already have a cav plate and cupped prop and the money is not a limiting factor you will get more out of the skiff with the jackplate. I cannot speak to the LWPU.
I mostly fish the central TX coast and have done the LLM a handful of times. I do not have a tunnel and did not have a JP till recently because I was worried about additional weight affecting my poling draft which is my main concern.
I did not feel very limited without it and was not chopping bottom, running aground etc. My experience without the plate was you don’t necessarily need them to get IN places if you have a light skiff (obviously some exceptions on negative tides etc), but you may need to pole or idle OUT some ways to jump up (if you are like me and very cautious about bumping bottom when there’s grass) and get out unless you know a deeper hole to jump. I’m comfortable with a LONG pole out and set up to be coming out with the wind etc. When doing that which you don’t need to plan around if you can jump up shallower.
With the plate, I can jump much shallower and I dont have a cupped prop. With the cav plate and prop already you’d see bigger benefit in the depth you can jump up in. I relocated my battery to the bow at the same time I added my plate and have not noticed any difference in poling draft.
If you have any hesitation just fish it as is for a year and make the decision.
Maybe the wrong spot, but has anyone heard from Tyler lately on his jack plates?
I called a few times. Last time I talked to him he was putting 1 on a guys boat to try out.
I told him when he was in production to call.
Crickets😳
I talk to him quite often. When the plates are ready you guys will know. I’m doing what I can to help him and it will get done eventually. I’m getting one too.
Ok😎
Still no word on the jack plates?
I may just go with a Bobs if not coming soon😳
Do what you have to do. If you aren’t on the list you won’t be first in line anyway.
We used to have a member fishing that area with a non-tunnel Chittum boat. Maybe he can chime in….
I’m going to echo basically what everyone else has said, you will want a jackplate. Cool part for you is, that is the only thing you will need IMO.
I didn’t know there was a list🙄
I told him I wanted 1 and to let me know when they were available, but I haven’t heard anything
The HMP plates are still not available for production yet.
I spoke to Tyler last week, he’s hoping to have them introduction by December. He told me he has someone (@Smackdaddy53?) in Texas testing the unit to make sure the actuator is healthy enough to put into production and warrant.
Good to know!
@Smackdaddy53 is the Area 51 of testing new skiff technology 
