Big Jon Sports Roughest Rigger contest

[A-Fishy-Anado]

I have 2 "new in the box" Big Jon captains pack(Model number MD00500) one hand crank downriggers with swivel bases, that I am giving away on behalf of Big Jon Sports as part of a promotional contest.

Please send photos of your rig along with a little history on your rig and fishing experiences to [email protected] and we will judge the most worn out, old, beat up "Roughest riggers" and present the winner with a pair of the "Toughest riggers" on the earth!

With the economic times we currently are in please consider Big Jon sports, when purchasing, as they are the only riggers still built 100% in the USA.

Please submit your photos by 6/12/09 for eligibility.

[GLF]

If you dont mind sharing, I would like to see some of these pictures and stories posted here also.

Thanks,

Mike

[A-Fishy-Anado]

I don't mind at all Mike!

Get em coming boys...this is one hell of an opportunity the guys at Big Jon are giving everyone here!!!

[Vitalidle]

Mike is there a chance you could put this on the homepage? Might get more traffic? Just a thought. Good luck everyone! Thats great cuz that you are going the extra mile to promote Big Jon and give this out to a lucky member! Cudos to Big Jon and the Hall Kid:p

[cliftp]

Just a note on the Big Jon's. Bought my two from D and R in Kalamazoo. Jim H from the store said they were really good, and the 100 % USA made, plus made in Michigan clinched it for me. As Mike said too, D and R Sports is a great store, I'm in there once a week or so getting my "fix". (plus then have some Big Jon parts and pieces in stock)

[1mainiac]

Mine are old but not really beat up as I keep updating them everything but the booms and bases and pulleys have been replaced over the years. They have however caught a lot of fish over the years and thanks to the great support at Big John they have always been dependable.

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Support from the guys at Big Jon is unparalleled! To have a product as solid as Big Jon and then to provide service and support as solid as their product is something that is not found in many companies these days!

Keep the pics of those "rough riggers coming guys"

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Just to clarify

I have had a couple of guys ask if you needed to have Big Jons to be eligible and the answer is NO. The guys at Big Jon say it doesn't matter if it is a walker, cannon, vector, scotty etc....if they are the "roughest riggers" they will be replaced with a brand new pair of Big Jons. Lets keep them coming guys!!

[1mainiac]

Hey I have a set of home made riggers built well over 20 years ago would they count I have not used em in over a decade?

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Sorry Jim

They should be currently in use. Nothing really rough yet so it is anybody game at this point.

[Vitalidle]

Any updates? How many entries so far?

[fishsniffer]

Any updates? How many entries so far?

yeah...what he said

[rustyreel]

Are there any pics posted yet??

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Everything has come in by e mail so far. I will post them when i get a chance, but i am scrambling to get ready for the tournament trail in sheboygan WI this weekend and am probably going to extend the date for eligibility to the 15th when i get back....they have been pouring in the last few days though.

Keep em coming guys....some one gets a free pair of BIG JONS and saves 600 big ones!!

[A-Fishy-Anado]

We have decided to extend the date until the 15th as we are heading for the Tournament trail in Sheboygan WI this weekend. Best of luck to all!!

[CAC]

I have two old and borrowed Riviera riggers on my Lund Explorer. I would post the picture but am not sure how to do so.

[kozlov1]

:eek:anxious to hear the results of the ugly/beatup/falling apart downrigger contest

[CAC]

http://www.greatlakesfisherman.com/gallery/files/9/0/5/img00135.jpg' alt='img00135.jpg'>

Let me try one more time.

[A-Fishy-Anado]

Here is our winning entry into the Big Jon Sports "roughest rigger" contest!

Congratulations to Josh Carlson of Houghton MI on your new pair of Big Jon riggers.

A Big thank you from Big Jon Sports to all who took the time to enter the contest!!

Here is our winning entry history and photos:

(Bought the Rig, Financed the Ring)

My Rig History

My Rig is a 16 foot Lund with a 25 horse Johnson. I grew up in Escanaba and was

raised a walleye fisherman on Little Bay De Noc by my father. After high school, I moved to Michigan

Tech and began fishing Lake Superior frequently, mostly shore casting and river

fishing for salmon/steelhead because I didn’t have the money to buy a boat. After I

graduated, I decided to stay at Tech for grad school and immediately started saving

up some money to buy my soon-to-be wife an engagement ring. After quite sometime I

had scraped up $2,000 and was planning to buy a ring in Marquette that next weekend.

As luck would have it, I was taking a friend to get his car fixed up in Calumet

when all the sudden we passed this red Lund with a for sale sign parked along side

of an old garage. Immediately I hit the brakes and got out to take a look. There

was no price on the boat, but the rig looked to be well out of hand with my current

financial status as a student. Just for kicks I phoned the number on the sign. I

was expecting the old man who picked up to say he wanted something in the range of

$3,500, so I was completely shocked when he replied $2,000. It almost seemed like a

sign from God or something. Knowing my wife to be would probably kill me if she

found out I spent the ring money on a boat, I toyed with the idea for a long time.

Five minutes later I bought it. Later that week on my way through Marquette I

financed the ring and paid it off throughout the coarse of the next year.

Rigger History

I wiped out my saving to buy the boat and was paying off a ring, so new riggers were

definitely out of the picture. I remember seeing some pictures in a photo album of

salmon my dad and his buddy caught well before I was born in 1982. As long as I’d

been old enough to hold a fishing pole I could only remember my dad as a walleye

fisherman, but little did I know he actually fished salmon back in the 1980s. I

asked him if I could have his down riggers since he hadn’t used them in 20 years.

After having little luck getting him to pull them out of the attic, I did the next

logical thing. I ask my mother. Within a few hours not only did he have them out

of the attic, he also had them mounted on the boat and ready to go. They were

manual cannons with maybe 24†booms. One of them has a broken handle, so I use a

wrench to crank it up. That is a real pain in the butt when I have to bring up the

ball from 80 feet down a half a crank at a time. The other rigger has a handle, but

I’d hit two unmarked nets the first year I fished, so instead of respooling new

cable for a third time I just tied the ball off to the broken end and have been

using it that way ever since.

Fishing History

I started salmon fishing back in the fall of 2005 and have been hooked on it ever

since. I’ve attached a few pictures to the end with some of the catches we’ve had

while out in my boat. All of these salmon were taken from Keweenaw Bay, near

Baraga. I try to fish at least twice a week, and usually more around a new moon

phase. I’d say right now, my catch rate as a whole is about 5 fish a trip, but many

times it is hard to reset lines fast when the fish are biting well, due to the fact

that it takes me along time to crank up my down rigger with a wrench.

Thanks for considering my rig, I could REALLY use some better riggers!

Josh

[GLF]

Congratulations Josh!

I would like to know what his wife(soon to be fiancee at the time) thought about him taking the ring money and buying the boat. Maybe it didn't matter as long as she ended up with a ring.

[bluedevil]

Congrats Josh...

I remember the days when I had manual riggers and I hated them, I could not imagine having to use a wrench to bring up a rigger though..

[jay d]

the guys at big jon rock,and you cant find better customer service.

[kozlov1]

i love the wrench handle. very creative....

fish on...

Ed

[fishsniffer]

im sure you all know how much it sucks to drop a manual rigger 100 ft then having the dang thing release putting tension on the rod...man i hated that

[salmontime]

Thanks guys... I can't wait to try out the new riggers. That wrench handle was the third version I came up with. The first two wrenches ended up on the bottom of Keweenaw Bay. They were the one size fits all spring loaded wrenches, but when you get fish slime on your hands, they tend to slip loose and fling overboard.

FYI, Wife was really upset for a few days after the purchase, but the father inlaw was so excited to go fishing that he talked some sense into her. I ended up buying the rings she wanted, but had them size up to a little bigger diamond. Took a few more months to payoff, but definitely saved my bacon!

Thanks again,

Josh