Is the Native Watercraft "Ultimate 12" Fishing Kayak as Good as the Name it Bears?
Introduction: Kayak fishing is quickly becoming one of the most popular angling forms out there. The advantages of kayak fishing are numerous. Since kayaks have the ability to float in mere inches of water, you can access waters that most boats just can't get to. Less access means a greater opportunity to catch fish since these areas see less pressure from boaters. Stealth is also an important component of kayak fishing. Fishing from a kayak gives you the ability to get to the fish without spooking them especially in shallows where fish are more sensitive to noise. Paddling quietly can give you the chance of sneaking right up on fish. Not only is the fishing better but it allows you to be on more of an intimate level with nature. Native Watercraft kayaks embody all these important features when choosing a kayak. There are decades of boat-building knowledge behind Native Watercraft, and a passion for paddling's history and its future. They have a long standing reputation for creating some serious kayak fishing platforms. The Ultimate 12 is no exception and is a best selling model among kayak anglers. Native also makes a 14.5 and 16' version of the Ultimate but the 12 consistently continues to be their best seller. In this review, we explore the newest upgrades in materials and techniques to the Ultimate 12 that have been getting much attention and praise by anglers and the industry alike.
Good review!
I've been kayak fishing hard for around 15 years now and owned many fishing yaks. Been planning on getting the ultimate 14 tandem. Only hitch is(and it's a big one), when examing & measuring the boat in person... I can't figure out how I'm going to stow my rods. Anything 7ft & over hangs over the bow, and that's the 14ft model. The layout is awkward for stowing rods lengthwise. I don't stow my rods 'straight up' behind the seat like most people with this boat( rear back to cast and hook one of your $300+ rods a few times and you learn 'antenna style' rod holders don't jive with fast paced casting).
It's an awesome boat & awesome company. It just requires some mods for having more than one rod in front of you.
The review says the MSRP is $799. Austin Kayak says the MSRP for the basic model is $1,099. Where are you finding Ultimate 12s for $799? I'd like to buy one at that price.
wbook01 wrote:The review says the MSRP is $799. Austin Kayak says the MSRP for the basic model is $1,099. Where are you finding Ultimate 12s for $799? I'd like to buy one at that price.
Finally a topic I can speak to lol. I used a native 14 for years while living in Tampa Florida. I mounted the rods on a milk crate and put a slight angle on the mounts so they pointed back so I wouldn't hook them. Or I had a few friends that used scotty mounts to mount them horizontal behind the seat. We would normally take 2-4 rods out fishing, we never worried about hooking them the bigger issue was remembering to pull them down on low bridges.
The boat is super stable my wife and I fished tandem both standing a casting, Im 6'3'' 230lbs and the wife is 5'4'' 130lbs. I caught tarpon, small grouper, snook, redfish, seatrout, and even kingfish about a mile off shore. The only real negative i had with the boat is the fact that its no self bailing, this can make launching in the rough stuff quite an adventure. But for most lakes not a huge issue. When I had 2 foot swells I would take a different boat.
The tandem is great solo but does do better with a cooler or some kind of weight up front. It is a wide boat so you will need a longer then "normal" kayak paddle. The wide nature of the boat also makes it drift a bit slower then a traditional sit on top but also makes it a slower paddling boat. The only reasons to get the 12 is price and if you need a smaller boat for turning in small streams imo.
I fish some of the smaller streams in the northern Ozarks, and a 12-footer is easy to use in them.
Looked online at the info about the new Ultimate FX coming out soon. I like the looks of the seat on that thing. But is it worth an extra $350-$450 over the price of a closeout? Hmmm.
