well i am about to order a new set of big john captain pak riggers.and i see there is an accessorie for the auto stop.i dont know these riggers.but all the guys on this site say there the ones to get?would you guys reccomend i get the auto stop.and if any of you have it on yours how does it work?? i looked at fishlander but aj told me there out of buissnes. so big john it is. i will also be ordering a big john planer board set up as well. thanks to all of the info you guys gave.i feel it will make me a better fisharman? ps. do any of you know the retrevail rate of those downriggers.it does not state on there site?? thanks JOE S....
I have one Big-J with, one without. To me its 50/50. If you stay focus just reach over and shut it off at the surface. While in the heat of battle. Auto stop is convient, but extra $$. With auto stop I have had cable fray and break at the crimp at the tube for the stop. And there went ball etc. deep 6. And over time auto wears gets tired and does not work quite as efficent. w-fats 2 cents
I would skip the auto stops.
I have never seen them hold up for a long time. Seems they always slip and they get in the way when you are stacking multiple releases. I'm sure they probably work for some folks but for me they are in the way.
I wouldn't spend the extra $80 each for them and install them.
I think they have a new model this year the tournament electric and it comes with the auto stop on it already.
I think they are 110 or 165 ft per minute. Plenty fast for winnipesaukee. The new big jon speed rigger moves it at 310 feet per minute. (which is absolutely too fast, it scares you) but they have a speed dial to adjust it.
I don't have them. Like YO said I couldn't justify the cost to retrofit them. I wasn't paying attention once and sucked my ball right up into the pulley. That was last time it happened! You learn quick.
I have Canon Mag 10s and they have autostop and ion control built in. The autostop design works pretty well. It uses an insulator clip above the ball that tells the unit to shut off the retreive when it breaks the surface. No additional wear and tear like that described for the old Big Jon option. I like it.
If I had it to do over again I might have gone with the Fishlander "Fisherman's Choice" or the Big Jon "Captain's pak". I have heard nothing about Fishlander going out of business...that sounds fishy and maybe some sour grapes from Big Jon people?. I just bought a planer mast and rod holders from Fishlander with no problems. Quality gear. Their rigger package seems a little better than the Big Jon for the money:
my dad rescently purchased a fishlander down rigger, i havent heard they were out of business. they are very similar to big jons, the rod holders are very nice to use. there site is working.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: big john downrigger auto stop???
I don't have auto stop on my Big Jons, but have had no problems even when I do forget to stop the ball in time. My clutches are set low enough that when the ball hits the pulley the cable just stops moving. No damage, but it does make enough of a noise to grab your attention to fix it.
I have the Auto Stop on my Scotty's and would not go without them. They are very nice when your alone or only two people in the boat. I have not seen them fail yet, and I been using them for 7-8 years. just my experience. Roland
I have auto stop on my cannons and would be lost with out them.But mine work using electrical current to stop them I don't know about using a crimp sleeve on the cable.I think the scottys is a plastic pc that goes on the cable to stop the motor but I'm not sure.I don't think I would use the stops with a crimp It would cost me big $$ if I lost my temp probe and weight because of a bad crimp.Spend your $$ on something else and adjust your cluch so the reel will spin if you don't catch it in time.Just my 2 cents.
