Sweet Home Alabama

Our first stop on Phase 2 of the Nu Frontier Tour was Coosa River Adventures in Wetumpka, AL.  Owner's Chris & Therese Carter have built a great business on the shores of the Coosa River.  When they purchased the property, the trees were so dense they didn't know a 100+ year old house sat in the middle of it.  After years of constant work, that house is now their store and showroom. 

Coosa River Adventures has been a NuCanoe Dealer for three years, and they are excited about the Frontier model.  Scupper holes, the wider deck floor, and integrated storage are they think will really appeal to their customers.  And Chris said the kayak fishing is on the cusp of booming...hopefully the Frontier can help push that growth even faster!

Winding through from Auburn country to Alabama country, we arrived in the sad city of Tuscaloosa, two days after their loss to LSU.  We were hoping for a win and continued festivities, but it wasn't to be. 

Woods N Water sits atop a hill overlooking Tuscaloosa.  On game days, I'm sure the roar of the crowd from Paul Bryant stadium can be clearly heard from their parking lot. Woods N Water picked up NuCanoe this year and is off to a great start.  Their fishing department staff (Dennis, Fox, & Jake) are all huge NuCanoe fans. They were all impressed with the Frontier and like how it fills the gap between kayaks and fishing boats.  It is a great fit in their fishing and hunting focused store...and we are happy to have a great crew to serve NuCanoe customers!

On Tuesday morning we drove through the hills to Riverside Fly Shop near Jasper, AL.  As the name implies, their shop is right off the river coming from Smith Lake Dam.  It is the only cold water river in Alabama, thus it is the destination for trout fishing.  Brandon Jackson and his wife own RFS.  His dad Randy is and almost three year old daughter Lela were helping out at the store on this morning.  They have a great fly shop, do guided fishing trips, and have a fleet of NuCanoe boats for rentals. 

Joining us a Riverside Fly was Gary Hanson, an avid angler from Anniston, AL, that I connected with via Twitter.  We launched the boats in the crystal clear river and went for a lazy paddle upstream.  While paddling, we learned all about the work being done in the river to improve conditions for the trout.  Gary told us great stories of going after monster stripers in Anniston...that'll have to be on the agenda for the next time through!  Lela was talking constantly, having great fun sitting, standing, and leaning over the gunwale to check out the fish.


Brandon, Randy, Lela, & Gary were all impressed with the Frontier.  Brandon and Randy said it addressed everything they'd like to change with the NuCanoe, while preserving all they liked.  Gary figured he just found his next fishing craft!