past few years ive jusr fished a little in my old town vapor angler kayak i bought from dicks. wanting to upgrade to something more fisherman friendly. one i can stand up on to fish from. looking at the jackson big rig but was wondering if theres anything out there similar to those but for around $700-1,000 ? or is the big rig the way to go?

Commander 120/140 fit your parameters, if a little pricy. I ran a Jackson, it was ok. I run a C140 now, and it's great - fast, stable, tracks true, and relatively light.

you'll get a lot of suggestions, mostly to demo as many as possible beforehand....

i have a wilderness ride 135 and it's great, the 115 version is very nice as well... i would look closely at a lure 11.5 if i were in the market for a new one right now.

what type of waters do you fish mostly lake, pond, river, etc.?

Lure, especially if you need a cutting board. What a cool, but weird boat. Paddled my buddy's and dug it.

Agreed. If I were in the market for a new yak right now, I'd get either a lure 11.5 ( do they have a longer one? Ive never looked...). Or the native slayer 14.

not sure about the longer lure actually, but it would be a great multi purpose yak... small/big lake, river, pond, that thing would do it all. 

after seeing some pics of flyfisher's ATAK i really like that thing too, especially the electronics cockpit thing.

Pod, indeed.

https://www.facebook.com/WildernessSystemsKayakFishing/videos/10153370433787319/

I'd strongly consider the Lure, too. Great boat.

 

But Native's Ultimate 12 is a phenomenal boat

and highly customizable. I preferred it over the 

WS Commander, but you need to spend time

in each whether on the water, or sitting in them

at a store.

 

You can find previous-year and/or demo'd models

in the $800 to $1000 range.

In your price range, I've heard good things(and bad) about the Ascend 128T. You get alot of boat for the price.

Agreed. If I were in the market for a new yak right now, I'd get either a lure 11.5 ( do they have a longer one? Ive never looked...). Or the native slayer 14.

Yes they have the Lure 13.5, and comes with a built in cooler.

The only issue I have with my Lure 11.5 is the wheel in the keel and when I load it on top of my Ford Explorer. When you raise the bow up to lean it against the rear of the truck it wants to roll back, so you always have have a handle on it. You can't just lean it and then walk to the rear and lift it onto the vehicle. I think I have fix for that problem, and it involves a row tied to the front cross bar of my rack and a hook to hook the built in handle in the bow. Other than that it's an awesome yak. I stood in it 95 percent of the time this past Friday. I did get funny looks. When I had the seat raised at its maximum height (10"), and I heard somebody say if it was a kayak or not. It definitely isn't fast, but good enough for me.

Why not load it stern forward then?

Why not load it stern forward then?

I like to waste money on supplies, and try to invent something that would make it easier... I've thought about that, but the keel is more pronounced in the front so there may be a problem with it wobbling side to side if I lift the stern. I'm gonna give it a shot any way. Thanks for the suggestion.

If standing is really your top priority, I'd go with the Ride 115 or Lure 11.5.  The lure is wider and heavier (slower) than the Ride.  If you need something to travel longer distances, get the 13ft version of the Ride or Lure.

Those aren't the only two you can stand in, not by a long shot.

Those aren't the only two you can stand in, not by a long shot.

name some others in his $700-1000 price range then...  

 

 

PS.  I have a commander 120 and it isn't the best for standing (preferred my Ride 115 for standing, but sold it because I rarely stand in the kayak) 

We are lucky in that there are a ton of good boats out there.  I just went from a commander 120, which is an outstanding flat water boat and the standing ability is great, to an ATAK and so far so good.  

 

As far as standing goes, there are probably as many you can stand in as you can't.  Right now is also probably the worst time to find one for a good price but coming soon, the new models will be coming out, demo boats will be available for sale and demo boats will come to market.  I like to stand but with a raised seat position it isn't as big of a deal as it was when i was sitting flat on the bottom of the boat.  I use it more now if  I am flipping or punching (not that often), looking for longer casts for cranking or the most common reason, to take a leak or stretch my legs.