New Downriggers

[Boatino]

What should I go with. Vector, Cisco, Cannon, Scotty, or Big John. I hear the Big Jons are really fast, but I don't know if I like all that speed. I had Mag 10's and 1 mag 20 on the old boat and the mag 20 was almost too fast. I'd really like to hear about the Vectors and Cisco's if anyone has any experience with them.

Thanks,

John

[salmonbound1]

scotty are the only way to go got them on my boat and love them you wouldn t be dispointed

[Tim Bromund]

scotty are the only way to go got them on my boat and love them you wouldn t be dispointed

+1

Tim

[Gray Fox]

+2 I love mine.

[bottom-feeder]

i run cannons but have fished with landshark and was really impressed with his scotty's..... i'd buy them

[Jax]

+3

They are work horses, you will not be disappointed! Go with the Scottys

[FISHINMAN]

+4

[Iceman]

IMHO!

Bigjon's Brutes are the best from my point of view! Handle 20 pound sharks easily & the creep start makes them super easy to use! The two I have, have been bullit proof for this year, & show no signs of changing any time soon. Plus they have a very low profile & have very little plastic on them. The boom is a built in shock absorber that cushions the cable system from the waves. The tip up booms make rigging very easy.

Don't waste your time with the others!

[Landshark]

Scottys for sure

[seasquirrel]

Love my scotties. To be fair, my big jons were older ones so it is not making a fair comparison. I liked my old big jons too and I really loved Big Jons customer service, but I have to say scotty gets the nod for me.

[fishman08]

scotty!

[big easy]

I think almost all the major brands of down riggers are very good,and personal preference is what's important,so which ever one suits your needs the best,is the way to go..

I Ran Cannons for years and years,and they were always good.In twenty years,I only had to replace a few switches,and a couple boom ends with the pulleys.

Recently,I put new riggers on my new boat,and decided to go with Scotty's,and I'm glad I did.You get a lot for the money,compared with some other brands.They are are fast, the telescopic feature on the booms is very easy to use,the counters never have to be readjusted,the amp draw is low,and they have a great warranty.

I also like the way the beads work the short stops.It's a very simple design,and works perfectly,no printed circuit board to deal with.Overall they are a great product.

[GAMBLER]

I guess this is like the Ford, Chevy, Dodge argument. It's all personal preferance. I'm a cannon fan. Metal gearing is less apt to fail. I have used Scotty's and Big Jons and they were OK. I'm a little weary about belts and plastic gears. I will stick with my Cannons. They are more expensive but you get what you pay for IMO.

[spoonfed-1]

Scottys are tough to beat. The belts hold up just fine. I've only had to replace one in 14 or 15 seasons and that was caused by an operater error. Pulled a plastic bag up into the front roller. Why pay more when the Scottys are very good riggers? Don't make sense. IMO.

Every year I see more and more boats switching over to Scottys. Must be something to it. I can vouch that they last.

Glen

[FISHINMAN]

I guess this is like the Ford, Chevy, Dodge argument. It's all personal preferance. I'm a cannon fan. Metal gearing is less apt to fail. I have used Scotty's and Big Jons and they were OK. I'm a little weary about belts and plastic gears. I will stick with my Cannons. They are more expensive but you get what you pay for IMO.

That's why I drive Toyota Tacoma pickup

I bought older used Scotty's (probably 10- 12 years old now) and they work great. Never an issue with belts

It's a like everything else to a certain extent, you need to take care of them and they will last longer.

[spoonfed-1]

LOL. Good call Tom. 170,000 + on my 01 Tacoma. Had to replace a sensor this past summer. Only thing thats broke on it so far other than regular maintanence stuff and shes done alot of towing. As far as the Scotty belts go you are correct. Every season I check the tension on the belts and use the tension adjuster if needed. Takes about 2 minutes.

Glen

[K Gonefishin]

I have Vector riggers, defintely a premium rigger and at a premium price, bulletproof construction, they are bar far the coolest looking rigger on the market along with Cisco, Cisco has the best rod holders period. Vector's have a great warranty and warranty department and are SUPER fast. I run 15 pound balls, handles them like a breeze. Alot of my friends are Cannon guys very happy with the mag 10's and 20's, good but much slower than the Vectors. Pick your price point and poison...down here on Ohio waters of Erie..Nobody runs Scotty so I can't comment on them.

[Iceman]

Did you hear about the toyota/lexus pending recall? Toyota tried to blame the floor mats & driver error, but the DOT thinks there is an inherent problem with the engine control system, causing the engine to go flat out on it's own. With the high horespower V-8's in some of the luxury models, 100 mph is just a few seconds away. Some pretty scary stories with a number of deaths resulting from this phenomenon. Since there are so many of this brand around, I hope they get to the bottom of the problem pronto!

[spoonfed-1]

Iceman

I have heard about this and I do know it's all speculation at this point. Have to wait and see what comes of this. I also know that my tax dollars are not being used to bail out Toyota/ Lexus and I find that FACT to be pretty interesting at this point. I also find the timing of this story to a bit coincidental with the government take over of GM. Seems like this type of story telling is quite common place with our current administration.

Anyway I'm sure we will learn the truth and hope it's done quickly to prevent any further injuries or losses. In the meantime I'm pretty happy with my Toyota.

And Scottys too.

On a side note when people ask for opinions on these message boards you will never see me comment on a product I don't have any experience with.

Come on April.

Glen

[waterlogged]

Only major point about the Scotty riggers is the footprint on your boat. We run Cannon but would love to go to Scotty downriggers....but with the limited room at the back of the 19 ftr and the limited area the footprint is to large.

Clarke

[Iceman]

Toyota has received a lot of breaks to set up business here in the states, so to say that they wern't bailed out is only partially correct. They got a lot of government $$ to put plants here. Further, they should have been prohibited from participating in the clunker program if our elected officials really wanted to help out the big three US auto makers. Remember the profit Toyota makes go back to Japan.

I have a set of Bigjon riggers that are over 20 years old & still work perfectly, & I have a 1999 Merc Sable with 223,000 on it & it still gets 25 MPG, so see ya & raise ya!

Also, after WWII we bailed the entire country of Japan out.

[GAMBLER]

Back on track boys. Toyota does not make Downriggers (yet).

[FISHINMAN]

Did you hear about the toyota/lexus pending recall? Toyota tried to blame the floor mats & driver error, but the DOT thinks there is an inherent problem with the engine control system, causing the engine to go flat out on it's own. With the high horespower V-8's in some of the luxury models, 100 mph is just a few seconds away. Some pretty scary stories with a number of deaths resulting from this phenomenon. Since there are so many of this brand around, I hope they get to the bottom of the problem pronto!

Iceman, your spending to much time watching ABC news! They want you to buy Chevy, Ford and Dodge! I am sure there have been issues in the past with those makes too.

It is scary to think of though

Vectors are NICE!! Was on a buddy's boat that had them and they were made really really well. Strong as a Gambler.... OOPS I mean Ox

[LongLine]

Personally I like my cannons. The booms are great. I looked at howitzers & mortars but couldn’t launch water balloons nearly as far during combat fishing. Never worried about belts as I use a string tie on my sweat pants and as for speed, they’re as fast as I can crank them.

What’s a Toyota?

Tom B.

(LongLine)

p.s. 220,000 on my '94 Ranger. 64 miles round trip daily commute & 15 yrs of towing.

[spoonfed-1]

Well Iceman there are alot of good hard working American familys that are eating because they are employed by Toyota. My truck was built in California. None of them are on the unemployment line during this time of layoffs and no jobs. Now the only comment I got for your World war two rant is I wasn't around then. My father fought in that war and god rest his sole is long passed. That seems like a real friggin stretch to me.

You really have a strong argument with the cash for clunkers program. Far as I'm concerned I'd like to keep some of my paycheck instead of having the government spread it around to the companys that have been ripping us off blind and living high off the hog for years. I can't see them hurting now if they built a quality product at a resonable price. Would we even be talking about Toyota now if they did?

But thanks for the insight.

Glen