Having gotten back into fishing again after many years away I was looking for an inexpensive (relatively) boat to get me in and out of the lakes in my area. Not seeing anything in the bass boat market that would fit my needs I discovered the emerging kayak fishing scene. I spent the better part of 3 months doing research into the capabilities of the various offerings. I'm a big guy so I needed a kayak that could handle me, my gear and on occasion one of my daughters. The Frontier 12 seemed to hit all my check marks so I began looking at all the different options that the NuCanoe Frontier offered and pulled the trigger and purchased my boat at the end of this spring, 2013.

I ordered the Frontier 12 and began rigging it to my needs with an anchor trolley, fish finder, and rod holders. One thing I noticed was it was a little unwieldy to move around without the dolly that NuCanoe offers. A call to the dealer and the dolly was on the way. In my conversation with the dealer he told me that 90% of NuCanoe buyers purchase the dolly with the boat and the other 10% about a week later after they take delivery. So buy the dolly up front to avoid a 2nd trip or order from you dealer. It is well worth the cost. It makes getting the Frontier 12 on top of my small Chevy HHR a much easier task.

On the water the Frontier 12 is super stable and for someone who hasn't paddled a kayak for a looong time this was a big plus. After about 10 minutes on the water I felt very comfortable and the stability of the boat shined through. My first few trips out on the water were on small lakes that only allow electric motors so no big waves or boat wakes. I've since been out on lakes with water skiers and big pleasure boats and the Frontier 12 has performed very well in all conditions. It's fun to "surf" the wakes of the ski boats to help cross some of the big lakes I've fished. Though not very fast paddling the F12 is surprisingly easy and once you're underway it takes very little effort to maintain momentum.

Overall the Frontier 12 has delivered more then I thought it would and I'm completely hooked on kayak fishing and my yak. I also like the versatility of the NuCanoe and look forward to many fishing trips in the future.

We are older, heavier an losing core strength, so finding the right Kayak was difficult. We had a canoe for quite a while but wanted our own Kayaks, so the search began. Our first Kayaks were the Wilderness Commander 140 and 120. We were pretty happy with them and then the Frontier was released. We decided to get new yaks so we started to look and test many different yaks, Jacksons, Hobies, Natives and Oceans to name a few. We were able to test ride all the yaks except the Frontier. We read and studied and then went ahead and bought 2 frontiers over the phone without trying them.

Well, the first trip out to test them was going to be on a small river with overgrowth a decent current and sharp curves, not to mention other traffic. Once we launched and began our upstream trip, we breathed a giant sigh of relief. They were wonderful, very maneuverable, stable as all get out and a pleasure to paddle up that river.

Since that day we have set them up like we wanted for fishing, changed my seating option to a higher seat, used the slide tracks for adding 'stuff' - rod holders and the like, they are a top notch fishing machine... Large clear deck, cooler and milk crate in the back, tackle under my seat, deck completely clear, priceless..

They take heavy water in stride and you feel fairly secure. I have not been able to flip it, no matter how hard I try (we flipped a few of the ones we tested fairly easily). Standing is not a problem and now they have the stand up bar it is even easier.
NeCanoe is still developing accessories for the Frontiers (the 12' now has a little sister - the 10'). It can be easily powered with electric or gas motors, even having a solar cell for charging the batteries on the electric motor.

We do use it at times just to paddle some bays (Manatee season) and rivers and find it totally comfortable for distances. It is not as fast as one of the 29-30" wide yaks, but not too bad once you learn the long quiet stroke that works well with these boats. We take comfort over speed.

This is the total package, worth every penny for years of enjoyment. Thank you NuCanoe for this gem.

In 2010 I started looking for a kayak to fish the backwaters here in Alabama. I looked at BPS,Dick's, Academy Sports, Gander Mt.. I was looking for 1 that would be stable and yet still have room for all my fish stuff.
I was almost to pull the plug and get an OK Drifter.
I happened to be at the local NuCanoe dealer and got to looking at the Classic, (At that time the Frontier was not out yet).
I pushed the plug back in on the OK Drifter, and started reading reviews and as much of stuff as I could find on the NuCanoe.
New Years Eve day I was offered a chance to try out and fish from a 10' Classic. Within 5 minutes of getting in it, I knew This was the kayak I wanted.
The local dealer just happened to have a used Classic 12 they made me a deal on it and I had me a kayak.
It was easy to rig it the way I needed to fish and feel comfortable.

Fast forward to Jan. 2012, I seen on the website that NuCanoe was on tour showing and demoing their new product, The NuCanoe Frontier 12.
After talking with my local dealer on the phone I ordered 1. then came the "Hard" part, Waiting for it to come in.
March 8th, 2012 my phone rang, it was Christmas eve, my Frontier 12 was in. I could not wait till the next morning to pick it up and get it rigged out.
The first time I put it on the water I knew I had made to right choice. The Frontier is so stable and comfortable easy to paddle, yes it is slower then most kayak, but I don't have a problem giving up a little speed for feeling safe while on the water. I have never even began to feel as tho I want turn over( which the boat want flip over) or even fall out.
I can fish all day and not be tired of being in the Frontier, I might be tired from catching fish tho.
The weight is the only negative thing I could say about the Frontier. But, I'm afraid that if it was lighten in weight it would not be as stable. So it's a "No Brain er" I'm taking the stability.

In my overall review you will not find a better kayak the NuCanoe Frontier 12, the "Battleship" of the kayak world.

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.

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.

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.

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!