I'm shopping (casually) for a kayak fish bag.

what do I need to know?  are they all created equal? 

you put a few frozen bottles of water in there?  I just pulled a tape measure on my Hobie Outback, and I seem to have limited space.  some of the options I see out there seem too big.  (Mako).

anyone have a used one for sale?

cliff

I can’t speak from a large sample size,
But I like this Reliable brand bag for my Outback:
https://reliablefishing.com/products/20-x-36-insulated-kayak-bag

I can’t speak from a large sample size,
But I like this Reliable brand bag for my Outback:
https://reliablefishing.com/products/20-x-36-insulated-kayak-bag

I've heard good things about that brand too.

For me - I have a Buffalo flat 40" bag.  It works OK, but is big and awkward to carry on a kayak.  It keeps cold for a long time, and fits a lot of fish.  I usually use it on my small boat, or for carrying fish home. 

Usually, if I am not expecting to catch large fish, I have a Trader Joe's insulted grocery bag that I use on the water.  I added two grommets to the bottom, and a grommet on both upper corners, so I can bungee it to my seatback.  I put 4 or 5 frozen water bottles in it, and it stays cold enough on the coast to keep fish good for a few hours.  It's big enough to fit a few rockfish and a nice ling or two, but if I was hunting for a limit I would bring my bigger bag. 

In a perfect world, I would find a bag that fits perfectly on my bow, but I was on a different kayak when I bought the Buffalo bag, and the bow-shaped bags tend to be kinda expensive. 

I have the same bag as Pasha that I mount on the front of the outback. I’m happy with it. I usually pack it with ice cubes/blocks so that at the end of fishing I can dump the ice and water etc out of it and just have a bag of cold fish to walk to the car. Then transfer them to a hard sided car cooler.

I would consider where you want to store the added weight. If I were doing it again I might go with this bag https://reliablefishing.com/collections/fish-cooler-bags/products/18-x-36-insulated-kill-bag-compact-edition
And keep it behind the seat in the tankwell. The downside is that you have to turn around to put fish away which might end in disaster.

If I were doing it again I might go with this bag https://reliablefishing.com/collections/fish-cooler-bags/products/18-x-36-insulated-kill-bag-compact-edition
And keep it behind the seat in the tankwell. The downside is that you have to turn around to put fish away which might end in disaster.

This is the nice version of what I setup, haha.  I don't have trouble getting smaller fish into it, but bigger fish I keep clipped while putting them in, just to be safe.  Once inside the bag, I unclip.  I've thought about moving the bag to behind my crate, but then the reach distance is getting a bit far.

The worst part of this style bag is reaching into it to adjust ice/fish, and catching a handful of rockfish spines, haha.

I have the large Feel Free fish bag with the removable inner liner that is easy to clean separately and leaves the rest of the bag clean. I can place the ice packs and frozen water bottles between the removable liner bag and the outer insulated bag, keeping them slime-free as well. They may have discontinued it since it is not on their website, but I see it listed here: https://www.fws.fish/feelfree-camo-fish-cooler-bag-large.html. I use it to transport the fish home in, storing the ice packs in a separate small cooler until needed for the drive home.

They keep fish cold, but are a hassle to carry, clean, store etc. And they leak (sometimes). When I started kayak fishing I saw a guy (who has since became a very good friend) using a burlap sac. It looked so primitive. Then I got one and realized it’s the best. Use it wet in blanket mode to keep the fish cold while kayaking. Once on land, put the fish inside and dump the whole thing in a garbage bag. Carry ice packs in the car if you have a long drive to keep things extra cold. Simple and effective