Big Jon now has "ball stops" I have them ... I guess it's like Ford Pickup vs. Chevy, ha ha. I'm also trying not to buy anything made in China !

I know where there is a pair of Cannon 10s Electric all you need to put on is cord ends. comes with the mounting bar etc. used of course for $400.00

I use Cannon, but I have heard that Big Jon has excellent customer service.

I had 2 BJ electric capt paks and loved them. I like the tip up boom, the dual rod holders and ball cradle. I would not have sold the BJ's but after fishing on squam with forry's cannon digitroll 4's I had to have a pair, they are awesome but like you said $$$$$.

I bought mine off craigslist, got a pair out of Detroit and another pair out of Fla. They are tough to find at a good price but they are out there.

I would not hesitate to buy the BJ's they are great, but if you want to fish Squam the Cannon digitroll 4's can save you $$$$$ in gear with thier bottom tracking mode.

Never had any problems with the Big Jons except when Forry used them...he likes to break the springs on the cable counter...hahaha.

i have a pair of big jon captain pack electrics for sale cheap.$450 for the pair. only ten hours of use on them. pretty much new.traded up to some digitroll cannons.thanks big john..every time i am on the barge i see something that will cost me more money.

I just sent you an email, Thanks Scott

My brother has the big johns captains packs and loves them.He does ocasionally invite me to fish with him.....that seems to only happen when one of the big johns isn't working....they repair very easy,but i still like my cannon mag tens.polebreaker

I love my Big Jon captains pack. I was able to pick it up in a gold color, which matched the "fighting lady yellow" color of the boat. The motor is external so it's easy to work on, especially when you have a twin brother who is a mechanic, that's much better than a manual. thanks Dave a.k.a. polebreaker.

Mike

I have used BIG JON's for ever! Still have on my boat a pair that we bought new in 1994 still running strong! If you ever have a problem just send them back and they will fix it. So with that said I have not changed brands because "If it aint' broke don't fix it"...LOL

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Cool Water

used to run big jon manuals, have fishlanders now which are made the same as big jons by an ex employee, if you go in the salt take them off the boat, my manuals were always seizing up in salt water, good customer service, but parts are priced pretty high. i like that they tilt up, works on my boat

I have owned and used Scotties for several years. Was turned on to them by a Lake O guide. He has used all the downriggers out there in his 30 years of guiding.
The booms come up like the BJ's. You can put a stop anywhere on the cable easily, and add others below if you like. Has both auto raise (which is very fast) and a push button also on the same unit, for fine tuning. To lower the ball you move a lever, which adjusts the speed of descent, and uses NO power, for those who max out their battery with other electronics. One of the benefits (for me) on the Scotties, is all up/down controls on the unit are easily visible and activated from the top of the unit. The only down side to the older units, for me, is the rod holders were not the best. I easily switched them out to Vector rod holders so I can rotate them to either direction and up and down in about a second. IMHO, there is not a rod holder that compares to a Vector! I understand the new Scotties have been improved! Thanks for letting me expound Salty!
Richard

I stand by my Big Jon riggers. They have taken some abuse from a docking incident, and it still kept on ticking like nothing happened. The new ones do come with a faster motor and auto-stops!

riggers sold.

and will be put to good use.

Thanks and it was good to meet you.

great to meet you to scott.hope we can fish together some time.
joe s.