Downrigger Companies
Downrigger Companies:
I used to do the rounds at fishing shows, in store events etc. Generally I was invited to attend by a local dealer. The reps from Big Jon, Scotty, Walker, and Cannon were there most of the time. I tried to get along with everybody; most of you can remember seeing Sharks hanging off all the riggers at the shows. The Shark had a way of making all their products look better; it was definitely a show stopper.
In an attempt to ingratiate ourselves with the "big" tackle companies, we made it a point to return the favor for them displaying our product at their booths; we would often give away a few Sharks with downriggers that were sold by the dealer that invited us. Big mistake! Found out about six months after one of these shows, one of the big 4 got their noses out of joint by this seemingly innocent gesture. This company got their butts kicked by another rigger company, and we became the scapegoat. Apparently, we “stabbed them in the back” after all that good stuff they did for us. By giving away four Sharks to customers that bought riggers from this other company, this was now the excuse why they got their butts kicked at the show. Ya Right!
The repercussions for this "seemingly innocent gesture" have been reverberating to this day. We have been at odds ever since. We gave away thousands of dollars in Sharks to all of them equally through dealer sales at the shows; but the notion of favoritism was more than they're ego's could handle. For the record, I still consider a few of their reps to be outstanding individuals, they went out of their way to help us out in the early days; Don Stanton from Walker would have to be one of these special people.
As far as downriggers go, everybody that knows me, knows my personal preference has always been the rigger John Emery and his dad designed 35 years ago. Form follows function is my golden rule to good design, the Big Jons have the best design for functionality. The lift arm takes the ball out of the water and into your hand in one smooth move in a split second; do your business and then back into the water just as fast. If you check out our video Fishing with Captain Jim Munoz, you can see this move executed by a pro. It is the essence of what a rigger is suppose to do.
I used to do the rounds at fishing shows, in store events etc. Generally I was invited to attend by a local dealer. The reps from Big Jon, Scotty, Walker, and Cannon were there most of the time. I tried to get along with everybody; most of you can remember seeing Sharks hanging off all the riggers at the shows. The Shark had a way of making all their products look better; it was definitely a show stopper.
In an attempt to ingratiate ourselves with the "big" tackle companies, we made it a point to return the favor for them displaying our product at their booths; we would often give away a few Sharks with downriggers that were sold by the dealer that invited us. Big mistake! Found out about six months after one of these shows, one of the big 4 got their noses out of joint by this seemingly innocent gesture. This company got their butts kicked by another rigger company, and we became the scapegoat. Apparently, we “stabbed them in the back” after all that good stuff they did for us. By giving away four Sharks to customers that bought riggers from this other company, this was now the excuse why they got their butts kicked at the show. Ya Right!
The repercussions for this "seemingly innocent gesture" have been reverberating to this day. We have been at odds ever since. We gave away thousands of dollars in Sharks to all of them equally through dealer sales at the shows; but the notion of favoritism was more than they're ego's could handle. For the record, I still consider a few of their reps to be outstanding individuals, they went out of their way to help us out in the early days; Don Stanton from Walker would have to be one of these special people.
As far as downriggers go, everybody that knows me, knows my personal preference has always been the rigger John Emery and his dad designed 35 years ago. Form follows function is my golden rule to good design, the Big Jons have the best design for functionality. The lift arm takes the ball out of the water and into your hand in one smooth move in a split second; do your business and then back into the water just as fast. If you check out our video Fishing with Captain Jim Munoz, you can see this move executed by a pro. It is the essence of what a rigger is suppose to do.
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