Monday, July 30, 2012

Prototype Frontier Duck Blind

We are working on an new & improved Duck Blind system for the Frontier 12.  We've worked through a few iterations, and now we need your thoughts & ideas.


The Duck Blind is one piece with two "hatches" built in.  It fits snugly over the bow and stern, and has an internal bungee that can be used to tighten it.  The blind extends 8" below the gunwale, so you won't have wind or water coming through.

The Hunter Hatch is in the center of the Frontier, extending 48" between the two gunwale Deck Rings.  It has a "U" shaped zipper that allows the hatch to be fully closed, fully open, or anything in between.
Hunter Hatch & Dog Pod, closed

Hunter Hatch, partially open
Hunter Hatch = 48" long

 The Dog Pod is behind hunter Hatch and features a similar "U" shaped zipper.  Again, it can be open, closed, or somewhere in between. The blind extends close to the gunwale so a dog can enter or exit the boat easily. If the dog needs a "lift", the hunter can reach around and help out.

Hunter Hatch & Dog Pod, open


The frame of the Duck Blind is provided by 2 battens (fiberglass rods) that are aligned with the gunwale Deck Rings.  Clips are sewn into the batten pockets and they fasten to the Deck Rings.  The entire system goes on in about 1 minute with no installation, drilling, or tools!
Inside the Blind from the Dog Pod.




The bow area has a slot to allow use of the Bow Handle when the blind is installed.

The transom area has a wider slot that enables use of the Stern Handle and allows a trolling motor to be installed.  It also has a slop for the Transport Cart frame to plug in to the transom hole.




 Now that you've seen our prototype, let us know what you think!  Comment on the blog using the link below....

Frontier 12 Review on Yak Angler

This review by Yak Angler Pro Staffer Joe Maione was published on Yak Angler on July 25.  The original review is at http://www.yakangler.com/articles/reviews/boat-reviews/item/1550-review-nucanoe-frontier.

This may be more of my personal opinion, as I have not paddled a lot of different fishing kayaks. I started out with an off-the-rack boat from Dick’s Sporting Goods that lasted one trip. I had the kayak bug, but definitely needed a better boat. Soon after, I moved up to a Jackson Coosa and really loved the boat! I especially liked it for fishing the creeks where I chase the smallmouth.

However it was terrible in the wind on open water, and I happen to have an 8-year-old daughter who may be the only person in the world I have met that loves to fish as much as I do. I borrowed a NuCanoe 12 from YakAngler last July, so I could prepare for the Riverbassin’ tournament that would be held out of Canoe Kentucky on the Elkhorn Creek. I soon fell in love with the stability, tracking and the ability to take my daughter along and fish comfortably. My daughter, Taylor, actually won her own kayak in the August tournament, as she came away with the youth title and female title fishing from the front of that NuCanoe. There were some drawbacks. Lack of scuppers made it tough to fish on our shallow creeks (several inches of water in the bottom of the yak all day was not fun), there is no storage inside, and even with the excellent stability the narrow floor area made it tough to stand and fish. This past winter I sold the Coosa and put in an order for a NuCanoe Frontier. Here is the review.

NuCanoe Taylor

Stability: If there is another kayak more stable, I wouldn’t believe it. "Check out these videos from Mark's review of the Pre-Production Frontier"I can easily stand to paddle and fish. On a spring Elkhorn trip, my wife went along and hopped in the creek to cool off. She was easily able to climb back in while we were in four feet of water, and the boat never felt like it came close to tipping. When I took my daughter to a local lake, we were both able to fish standing up at the same time. She even walked to the back to grab a drink without coming close to tipping. The Frontier feels even more stable than the 14 ft. john boat I used to fish out of before I got caught up by the kayak bug

Speed/Tracking: Speed has been one of the main concerns I have heard about the Frontier (and the regular NuCanoe, for that matter). I find it every bit as fast as the Coosa. For the type of fishing I do, I never need to get anywhere fast or travel long distances to fish. It tracks well even in windy conditions - much better than my previous boats for sure! If I planned to paddle two miles out in the ocean or needed to cover a lot of water to get to fishing holes, I might be more concerned about paddling speed. I have found the Frontier easy to maneuver.

Weight: The Frontier weighs in at 77 lbs. which is pretty heavy for a boat this size. I am lucky that it is pretty easy to throw in the back of the pickup truck by myself, and most of the areas I fish have pretty close access points. With that said, I do plan to get (most likely make) a cart to make transport to launches easier. In my opinion, the weight issue is nothing when you consider the capacity. With a capacity over 600 lbs., it easily accommodates just about any gear you can imagine and makes it a great boat to take along another person. You can even add a trolling motor and battery and not feel like you are weighing the boat down. That makes the Frontier an excellent choice for those of us who like to bring our kids along!

Seating--The seat is great, when you add it. You can get a couple of different setups from NuCanoe, but it only comes with the benches when purchased! I just purchased two of the quick-release bases for about $30 dollars, as I already had two swivel seats off an old boat sitting in the garage. Once you get the seats, you can spin around 360°. They fit in the tracks on either side of the deck, and can slide to any position. The tracks can also accommodate all kinds of add-ons (rod holders, cameras, etc.). There are even some mods out there with an even more elevated seat that I may add to my wish list.
NuCanoe side

Storage: The Frontier still comes up a little short on storage compared to other kayaks in this class, but is a big improvement over the original NuCanoe, which did not have any storage whatsoever. There is a front hatch with a dry bag. The dry bag comes out, and you have full access to the hull. It is pretty tough to reach in there to get anything that is stored inside the hull especially if it shifts away from the opening during transit. In the back, there is a space that is a perfect fit for a milk crate or any type of tackle storage you choose to use. There are even places on each side to secure the crate to the boat.

Deck, with Scuppers: The cast and blast deck is outstanding! It is super stable. Not only can you stand to fish and paddle, but you can even walk around on it, which makes it easy to get to the crate behind the seat. The best part of the deck, in my opinion, is the two scuppers located toward the back under the seat. The deck has recessed channels that filter the water right to the scuppers. Water is never a problem in the boat, even after a 13 hour float where we had to constantly get in and out.
Taylor smallmouth

In conclusion, I could not be any happier with my decision to purchase the Frontier. It is truly a joy to fish with my daughter, and is also an outstanding solo fishing machine. It has exceeded my expectations!

Monday, July 23, 2012

Lowrance Transducer Scupper Mount on the Frontier 12


Our sales rep for the Midwest, Dennis Spaulding, recently tested out the Lowrance Transducer  Transducer Mount on his Frontier 12. His assessment: "It's really sweet!".

I passed along the pictures to Lucas, a Product Manager with Lowrance.  He said "That looks nicely protected!  We really tried to make it fit most sit on tops but the deeper channels are better."  To see the units Lowrance recommends for kayaks, go to:
http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Marine/Paddlesports/

Here are the some pictures of the Scupper Transducer Mount.  As you can see, it is well protected in the Frontier's deep hull channels.  It secures cleanly on the deck slide as well.  All in all, looks like a great fit!

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Worst Fishing Guide Meets Best Fishing Day

Worst Fishing Guide Meets Best Fishing Day

by Anthony Larson @

 “Guy” gave me a call about a month ago after he read in a forum a negative review someone gave me. He mostly wanted to let me know that someone put information about me in a forum he frequents, and wanted to know what was up with that.

I explained to him that everyone is entitled to their opinion, even if the poster never met me in person, let alone spent one minute with me on the water.  We had a conversation about professionalism, and he too has fallen under attack from sources behind the screen.

His second question to me, since the post peaked his curiosity to visit my website, was about the NuCanoe. We talked in depth about the NuCanoe and the stability of the unit and why I choose the NuCanoe to guide out of instead of the traditional boat.  I told him that the NuCanoe makes me the most aggressive and competitive canoe/kayak guide in the country and once people get in the NuCanoe, their skepticism quickly fades.

Yellow Popper
Guy is a die hard fly guy, and the reason he visits the forum he read about me in is to learn more about fly fishing the driftless area. He said the forum lacks any other kid of fishing, and he’s always wanted to try fishing for bass on the fly. I told him that I have the spot in mind for a good time, and if he was game to book an appointment to check out the NuCanoe and the worst guide in the Midwest.

When Guy and I finally hit the water, it was about 3:30 and muggy/ humid. I  already had the NuCanoes set up, and ready to go. He had one question: what fly rod to grab. He had five rods at his finger tips. I told him to grab the 7 wt, he felt it was too heavy and went with the 5. I was worried because I wasn’t sure the 5 will have enough backbone to hit a pike; but he will quickly prove me wrong.

Pike hitting popper off the water
Guy and I paddled to the top of a spring, a feeder for a slough that feeds the head waters of Lake Onalaska, territory any bass boat or even some flat bottoms would cringe. Riddled with sandbars and thick weeds, this water would prove a challenge for any propeller on any motor. Guy commented on how nice it was to glide over the weeds and that, though his paddle caught the weeds, he wasn’t having any trouble getting over them.

Once we got to the spring, it was game on. Guy tied on a yellow popper that produced several northern pike. At first he found himself getting clipped off, so he upgraded to a thin steel leader. Then he honed in on the pike, after the pike tore  his popper up, he switched to a silver streamer with a trailer, a rig the bass and dogfish couldn’t keep their teeth out of.

Bringing a 30 inch Pike
Guy will admit it was a little weird having a net guy in the next boat over, but it freed him up to fish where he wanted to fish, and allowed him to operate his fly rod effectively. He confesses that he doesn’t know what he would have done on a fly outing with another angler behind him.
Like many guests before, I had no problem running point, netting the fish, taking it off the hook and allowing my guest to fish. It’s nice to be face to face with my guest when they pull up their catch and high five them on their release.

After a 40 fish day, Guy was in tears. Never in his life would he imagine catching bass, pike, dogfish, and garr in the same 150 yards, and if he had smaller tackle, he would have caught crappie and bluegill.

Spunky Bass
Guy was humbled at the amount and size of the fish he caught on his fly rod, and never would have imagined the fish being so aggressive. He’d never dreamed of watching a pike or a bass jump out of the water to grab a fly. Guy said “it was just like on T.V” and was more than happy to return to the twin cities with his NuCanoe on order, and a few business cards to pass to his friends and other members of the forums he visits.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Getting Ready for NuCanoe Hunting

 "I took a few pictures of my NuCanoe with the duck blind hunting kit on it, however the scenery is a lot greener in July than in duck season. I'm looking forward to hunting in my NuCanoe this fall!"
 
Caanan H, Lake Charles, LA

PS - Faulk's is our family's game calls...check them out!           http://www.faulkcalls.com/