I bought this kayak the beginning of last year. I was about to pull the trigger on a old towne predator until I saw the Big rig. What sold me was the rod troughs and the ability to accommodate up to a 9' rod. I fly fish a lot so this was the home run for me.
I have taken this yak in all waters, even a surf launch in pretty large waves and made it out front with no problems.
The boat is very stable, makes casting a fly rod standing up very easy and doable.
The speed is not great but it isn't poor either. You sacrifice some speed for stability- I was and am ok with that.
The boat comes pretty well rigged from the factory but adding a crate from yak attack gives you the ability to carry more crap :)
The gear tracs help out with mounting accessories like fish finders and additional rod mounts.
The stand assist bar was a nice compliment to round things out. I used it a few times but found I really did not need it, the boat is stable enough. I removed it to install my sail.

Rudder- I bought mine with a rudder. Don't let anyone tell you that you don't need one- if you fish from your yak or paddle in water with current and wind- you need a rudder!

All in all I am very happy with my kayak. It meets most of my wants. I would prefer a Hobie PA 14 but at $1100-$1200 more...well Jackson Big Rig is the next best thing.

This is a Big Boy's Cadillac. Excellent stability in the high seat or low seat position. Easy to switch between the two seat positions while on the water. Extremely easy to stand for site fishing, stretching or retrieving lures from those above the water line brush piles.

The first moment meeting the Big Rig was overwhelming. Loading it on my truck looked to be a two person job. Low and behold learning how to get it on my truck wasn't a hard task. The addition of the Torqeedo Ultralight 403 makes this boat amazing for bay fishing. The range is over 10 miles. The comfort of fishing from such a wide platform is awesome! The Big Rig is a trolling machine. A great drifting boat also. It doesn't spin in the wind. Just finds it groove and stays in that drift pattern.

The only cons to this boat is its size. An easy drop in location is required. It would be extremely hard to get this boat over jetty's, break walls, and bulkheads. I find not having a center hatch the boat lacks storage that my Cuda 14 has.

I have now had the opportunity to paddle my Big Rig in 4 different states from saltwater bays to freshwater rivers and lakes. the things I have been able to do in this kayak have blown me away. from flipping and pitching in heavy cover to fly fishing moving water without having to sit. I am outfitting mine with Nocqua lights to make it a bowfishing machine and I cannot wait ! the speed will not set any records but I have no problem paddling in current or for distance. wind is no fun for the big girl but truthfully wind sucks no matter what I am paddling. I really like the rod troughs and they also give me a good place to sit my feet when I need to turn and access my tackle behind me. the compartments are large and you can put days worth of gear in them before even beginning to use the top of the boat. there is a world of difference between the high and low positions when you paddle so make sure you paddle in both when doing your assessment. I recommend a 250 or 260cm paddle but know folks that successfully use a 240 with a high angle paddle stroke. that did not work for me so I love my BB Angler Pro in 260cm. this is such a fun boat and I love the fact that I can now stand and see to sight fish and the stand up bar gives a 3rd point of contact to keep me steady and centered as well as a great place to put a paddle, rod or bowfishing bow. I think I have said enough, I love this kayak. it may not be for everybody, but for me it is just flat out awesome !

Just finished my first trip on my Jackson Big Rig and I could not be any happier.(Well maybe if I caught more fish.) First let me just say I have only had one other fishing kayak so I have not been in every boat on the market but then again I didn't need to I found the perfect boat for me. Stability goes beyond anything you could ever think a kayak could be. My first time out and I had no Problems standing in 15mph winds with light chop even standing sideways a few time. At 6'0 200 lbs I believe I could stand on the gunnel and never flip this boat. Looking at the Big Rig you would think it would require a outboard motor to move it but I found it to be surprisingly easy to paddle and it tracks well even with a cross wind. I am regretting not ordering with a rudder but will be adding one soon. Feature wise you will not find a better equipped kayak on the market...Period...This kayak is ready to fish. I looked at 4 different kayaks and by far the Big Rig was the best equipped. Some guys give you plates to mount accessories while the Big Rig gives you 5 gear tracs, ample storage and seat that will keep you back from aching after a day on the water. I will give another update once I have more paddle time under my belt.