Hey everyone im very excited about kayak fishing and im new to the kayak game had to sell my boat cause i had a baby. I will be getting a new kayak this summer I am looking at the 12 ft ascend from bass pro and the pescador 12 from academy they seem like the best bang for the buck and they are right at $500. I would love to have a hobie but cant spend that much so any and all advice or comments would be greatly appreciated thanks in advance

LOL, that is exactly why I sold mine. Come out to the GTG on Lake Grapevine on April 14th to paddle just about any kayak you can imagine. There are several that are in your price range. I think Mariner Kayaks (Sails) have a 2010 Wilderness Ride 135 and a Commander 120 that is around that price. Nothing wrong with the kayaks that you listed but I'd check out a few before you buy. If you can paddle all of them before making up your mind.

Yeah i would love to make it out there and im so pumped about kayak fishing i used to fish canals in a paddle boat daily and loved it i think this will be even better

I have a pecador and I love it. I had $1000 to spend and chose the pescador so I would have money for accessories. I ended up spending $1200 after roof rack fish finder etc. And I still have a few more things I need. Just my .02

There are a variety of brands that fall in that price point. We carry some and so do others. I recommend demoing as many as you can, then make your decision. We will be offering rentals of the boats we carry as of next week. We will also be doing a demo day in the next few weeks. Other dealers offer the same thing, so get out and paddle a few until you find the one you like.

APT is correct.

What works well for 1 doesnt mean great for all.
The 2 you are looking at for approx $500 are good for the $ IMO.
But you really should paddle many side by side to know the difference if it is possible.

DOes anyone know if bass pro even does a demo day?

There's also the Heritage Angler 10' ($350), 12' ($450), and 14' ($500) now at Academy. The 12 and 14 are nice yaks and would be a more stable yak due to the flatter hull. Of course, it's not as quick as the Ascend or Pescador, but it's one of the things you need to test paddle to see which way you're going to go.

You are right but ive read reviews that the heritage brand tends to crack and let water in under stress kinda scary

Hey and also how important is it to have a finder on a yak i mean i know that to each there own but opinions on this topic would be awesome to plus when i had my boat i had an hds unit with navionics and loved it but this will hike the cost quickly on a yak also i wouldnt buy a $1200 dollar finder for my yak either more of a basic color unit any thoughts?

Huh, I haven't heard or read about cracks in the hull. Heritage seems to use a little extra plastic which is why they're heavier than other kayaks in the same length.

FF are a personal choice. Most people use units in the $100-$150 range. I know some kayakers have full blown side imaging units installed.

So does that mean you need a 12 volt battery for the finder? Those are awfully heavy too

Well, I can't speak about SI units, but using a deer feeder type closed cell battery will work just fine.

I use a humminbird 570. Like you said some guys have DI/SI units which are great. Just find a 7 or 8 amp hour battery to run it. Mine will last all day on a full charge. Deer feeder batteries work well as Josh said.

Cool thanks for the input, i will probably use a ff on my yak