Paddle Question from a newbie

[Bass-Man]

Hey everyone, I'm a newbie to the world of Yak's .I'm thinking of buy a Ascend FS 12 T sit on from Bass Pro any input on this yak would be a big help. It will be a back up to my boat not my main fishing platform. It will be used on ponds and bogs only no current or wakes to worry about. I'm 5' 7" about 170lbs from what I read a 12 foot is the way to go. I will be mostly fishing for Large mouth Bass and pickerel. Fly fishing with a 5wt,7wt and 9wt the 7 and 9 are both 9' long for casting rods will be 5'6'' to 7' long. My question is about the paddles I see they mostly come in two sizes 220cm and 230cm or 86 1/2" and 90 1/2" what is the big deal in an extra 4"? Like I said any and all information will be greatly appreciated big time. I know there are better yaks out there better then the Bass Pro one but the price and features are in line what I want to spend about $500.00 bucks or so.
Thanks
Mike

[T-Rex]

The kayak is fairly wide at 31". You'll probably need at least a 230cm paddle.
Good luck with whatever you decide.

[Lit-up1]

Paddle weight and length-
you have good advice on the paddle length, but I would try different lengths if you can to see whats good for you-this is not an all size fits all
experience-it's what works for you and thats hard to peg until you do it for a while-so start out with an inexpensive paddle and upgrade at some point when you are more sure of what you want
also the weight-carbon fiber v metal-plays a big part especially for lengthy kayak day-costs seems to be a factor so an inexpensive paddle should work especially if the yak is not your main platform-you may end up in the yak more than you think