Cannon Mag 10 STX or Big Jon Tourney Pro

[Hockey390]

Upgrading from (2) Canon Manual Uni Trolls to electric and looking for feedback here. Cost aside, what are your thoughts? I like the rod holders of the Big Jon, but Cannon is faster and I've already got the mount. I run two rods on one rigger sometimes, but less than 25% and have other rod holders so I don't NEED two on the rigger, but who complains with having an extra.. Boat is a 21' Walk Around and riggers are mounted on gunwale if that impacts your decision.

Cannon Mag 10 STX

vs.

Big Jon Pro Tournements

[rbradley]

I think this is a chevy vs ford thing, but i run canon's, my uncle put mag 10's on his new boat in 89...all 4 are still there and 0 maintenance other than new cable 2 years ago.

[Hockey390]

Ya I definitely agree with you there. I did do some searches first and read through, I was hoping to spark a comment or two here that would sway me one way or the other. Such as someone that owned both and likes one over the other because ___.

Maybe even someone saying it would be dumb to drill more holes, keep the canons because the mounts are there. Or for that matter, maybe I'm drilling holes either way because the mag's and uni's have different mounts?

[gmfishon]

I like big jon for the tilt up arm though i fig. That people who are only use to swinging the weight in to a holder will like the rigger they use. For me big jon and any other rigger with a tilt up arm. Got to be what i am used to. Keeps things out of the way when docking also. In a crisis ie kings screaming around the transom pull the arm up instead of fumbling with a swivel base or worse not one!

[SeaCatMich]

I have always preferred Big Jon over Cannon... mainly due to the better, more adjustable rod holders, tilt up arms, and less bulky. If you like Cannons though, stay with them. You can always add the Traxstech dual rod holders to the Cannons and have the best rod holders available.

Traxstech rod holders for Cannon (CANRH2):

[chandler]

Cannons for sure. They can handle bigger balls and are faster. I've only used cannons so I don't have a lot to say about Big Jon but I do know faster is better and I love using cannons.

[gmfishon]

if we are compareing all big jon vs cannons i am not sure the cannons are faster i have not used the cannons or any big jons other than my own for about 3 years. prior to that i used the bigjon brutes and they are super fast even with a 16 lb ball. I think the other poster was right chevy vs. ford unless you find that person who has used both and could piont out something not touched on, it will be everyone likes what they currently use.

[cliftp]

Upgrading from (2) Canon Manual Uni Trolls to electric and looking for feedback here. Cost aside, what are your thoughts? I like the rod holders of the Big Jon, but Cannon is faster and I've already got the mount. I run two rods on one rigger sometimes, but less than 25% and have other rod holders so I don't NEED two on the rigger, but who complains with having an extra.. Boat is a 21' Walk Around and riggers are mounted on gunwale if that impacts your decision.

Cannon Mag 10 STX

vs.

Big Jon Pro Tournements

Good Morning Hockey 390.....I've never used Cannons so can't speak to them at all, other then I've heard they are great. I put two new Big Jon Captains Pack riggers on my boat in 2008 and they have been great. The side of my garage must have moved as I was pulling he boat out one day and I took off part of the cover that houses the up/down switch and breaker and other electronic stuff. I took it apart and looked, decided I'd done enough damage so I took the motor assembly off and sent the whole thing to Big Jon with a note. (Company is in Interlochen, MI) They contacted me, let me know what needed done, fixed it and sent the assembly back, all with in the week, more or less. It was great dealing with a Michigan company. Plus, they actually called and left a message a few days after I received the package to make sure I was happy. Hard to beat that.

Good luck on your choice.

Paul C.

[Hockey390]

I'm also trying to decide if the extendable booms are worth it or not. I'm struggling to see why I would need them unless I was going over a swim platform.

[heaterman]

I was talking Saturday with a captain who has fished with several different brands. Walker, Cannon and Big Jon's were the names I remember from our conversation.

He said he settled on Big Jons because he just found them a better fit and easier to use on his boat. The thing that he mentioned several times about the Big Jons was the level of service from the factory up in Interlochen.

The example he used was a time when he dropped off 2 Captains Pak riggers for service. The factory replaced the needed parts, both clutches and respooled with new wire. All for no charge and these were not "under warranty". He could not say enough about the service and support he received from them.

[Twill23]

O man. If you plan an doing any amount of fishing go with the Cannons. Fast, reliable, and awesome service. If you prefer constantly working on your downriggers, and a loud screeching noise as it goes up and down, go with the big jons!

[Just Hook'n]

cannons...if you are pulling 15 plus pound weights you will want the speed and reliability.

I wish I could say the same for Big Jon....had them for a long time and they are a great company to work with on service, but if you don't buy the brutes you are not going to be happy. Now, if you are puling 12 pound weights or less, pro tournaments should work just fine.

[cmarfia]

I currently have four BJ captains packs and 4 Cannon Mag 20s. They both work well and have different strengths/weaknesses. BJ has better rod holders/lower profile/nearly all metal construction, but they are slower(not a big deal for me). The Cannons are faster/autostop, but are bulkier and rod holders SUCK(unless you add aftermarket).

Just pick your poison.

[gmfishon]

hockey- as i said in my first post you need to compare the same cannon model to a big jon equal model and vice versus. a lot of riggers will be faster than the standard captain pack big jon and some over the pro pak. the brutes are real fast but hefty price. one poster talked about the screech think this problem is long gone. for me it will always be bigjon over any brand that does not have the tip up arm (some other brands have it ,i dont think cannon does). for me i have got so used to setting lines with the tip up arm i am lost without it. real easy to show new people how to set lines with the tilt up arm and lowereing it. vs. watching them pick up the ball and drop it with a non tilt arm. the tilt is also great for docking.

[Hockey390]

Thank you all very much for all the input. At the end of the day I decided on the mag 10's and added rod holders. I definitely want to be able to pivot the riggers in or up for docking so the 10's were my choice since they came with swivel bases. Another main point was that I already have holes for cannons on my gunwales so I opted to not drill more. Lastly the speed and auto stop would have had me paying more for the big jons to get something comparable in that regard which I opted out of. Nothing against big Jon here, just had a better match with the cannons for my scenario. Maybe I'll add a couple big Jon's some day if I ever need corner riggers

[sherman51]

I've never used cannons but I bought a pair of big jon pro tournaments with auto stops and I just love them. the tip up booms comes in handy, and I like the way the booms flex to take part off the stress of the boat. I found the traxstech ball retrievers are the best with the auto stops.

[double j]

I have ran both of them my friend has big Jon's on his boat I fish with him probably 12 times a year and I have cannons on mine. The only thing I like better about the big Jon's is if your bouncing bottom for trout the booms flex to let u know your there with the cannons you have to watch for slack in the cable. I would take my cannons all day long over the big Jon's. Just like them better, but like everyone said it's a Chevy ford thing, they where on the back of my dad's boat growing up.

[Ozzie_219]

I like the extended booms for 2 reasons:

1) I run 4 riggers all of the time. Two out the sides and 2 out the back. Back ones deeper. Usually 5' increments from low to high.

Maybe One or two tangles per year max. ( I do go over a swim platform)

2) longer booms spread you baits a little more.

I also run 2 Dipsys on a reasonable day (Wind) the wider the spread, the more lines, the better the chances IMHO