Unlike box-store kayaks, these boats are made to take a beating. They are heavy-duty kayaks offered in a variety of models ranging from sit-in to sit-on-top, from recreational to fishing, and from just under 10’ to well over 12’. Built by the same folks who make Nitro fiberglass boats, Tahoe runabouts, Sun Tracker and Regency pontoons, and the industry-standard Tracker aluminum fishing boats, Ascend fishing kayaks are built with value, durability, and performance in mind. The Ascend brand is a Tracker Boats / Bass Pro Shops exclusive. Then we both met an Ascend fishing kayak. My friend John and I looked for rugged boats that were lightweight yet built-to-last. It is a minefield for lower units on outboards. However, the trip up is filled with submerged timber and limestone boulders. The cascading water has created a cut in the palisade, and the adventurous souls at the base of the spillway provide perspective. The plunge-point of the Lake Herrington surface spillway lies one river mile below the lake on the Dix River. A one-mile paddle upstream from Lock & Dam 7 takes you past Shaker Village’s Dixie Belle. To access the Dix, one must put-in on the Kentucky River at High Bridge (near Wilmore, about 30 mins south of Lexington). The stocking program of Brown and Rainbow Trout by the Kentucky Department of Fish & Wildlife ensures that fish are abundant and healthy. The Dix is a paddler’s and fisherman’s dream. Then I met the Dix River Tailwaters.Ĭlear, cool water. Watching them move through the stages of childhood has been like watching a pig move through a python. Several boats came and went, I became a husband and a dad, and the ensuing years were spent caring for our four sons (ages 14, 12, 10, and 10 as of this writing). Many a sunny day was spent paddling the shoreline of the Emerald Coast of the Panhandle…and dragging the sand-filled boats up the dunes to our beachside room at the Ft. I cannot count the number of hours I spent in hybrid sit-in kayaks on the reservoir.įrom there, my tastes changed again as friends and I began to paddle the surf off of Okalossa Island, Florida. Over the years, my interests changed and I found myself paddling Eagle Creek Reservoir on the west side of Indianapolis. Although I loved the water, I didn’t always love the physical toll canoes and jon boats exacted, not to mention the cost of lost sunglasses and lunch sacks due to tipping. Memories of rope swings, laughter, and the austere beauty of the creek co-mingle with those of an aching back, blistered hands, and WIBS (Wet-and-Itchy-Bottom Syndrome). My early years were filled with outings with my buddies, my 4-H club, and my church youth group. I grew up canoeing and jon-boating Sugar Creek in Indiana. Brad Johnson sells Ascend Fishing Kayak and accessories at Stokleys Marine, but he’s also spent countless hours out there paddling and fishing from his Ascend 12T…Īlthough my journey to an Ascend Fishing Kayak began forty years ago, it wasn’t until recently that I came to own one.
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