Keeping ice on the kayak

I have a non-Hobie fish bag that was less expensive and may be better than the Hobie one. The inner liner bag where the fish go is separate from the insulated outer bag. You can put ice packs between the two layers. The inner bag can be cleaned out separately from the insulated bag, which stays cleaner. I got it at CCK but it may be available online.

That looks really nice! Found it on CCK site - they have a great price too.

I have a non-Hobie fish bag that was less expensive and may be better than the Hobie one. The inner liner bag where the fish go is separate from the insulated outer bag. You can put ice packs between the two layers. The inner bag can be cleaned out separately from the insulated bag, which stays cleaner. I got it at CCK but it may be available online.

Is that the medium sized (46 ltr, 24” long) Feelfree?
I’d be interested to hear how it works out for you.

Come on, you gotta go longer than 24"!!!Don't jinx yourself.

I feel like I have a pretty dialed system that has fish ice cold when landing and requires zero consumable ice. I use flat ice packs that measure approx 1.5" x 8" x 8". I use one or two in a bow-mounted kill bag. Once a fish is retained, I use a scoop or cup (or bilge pump sometimes) to fill kill bag with about an inch of water, ocean or fresh depending on the fishery. The ice pack cools the water to 32 deg and maintains for the duration of the trip. dump excess water before schlepping the kayak to the car or you are in for a bad time. 

Without the water to encase the fish the ice packs by themselves don't do much, unless you have many, which is a pain in the ass to deal with. I don't gut my fish on the water either so not concerned about water-logging.

I have a non-Hobie fish bag that was less expensive and may be better than the Hobie one. The inner liner bag where the fish go is separate from the insulated outer bag. You can put ice packs between the two layers. The inner bag can be cleaned out separately from the insulated bag, which stays cleaner. I got it at CCK but it may be available online.

Is that the medium sized (46 ltr, 24” long) Feelfree?
I’d be interested to hear how it works out for you.

Definitely bigger than 24”. It has held fish over 30”.

I use a Reliable kill bag. Owned it for three years. I lightly rinse it after sessions, throughly scrub it every 90 days. Doesn’t smell (that) gross, easily cleaned durable material. Imagine it lasting another three, maybe five years. Think it’s worth investing the money. It’s something I use every trip. Large up front cost, paid its self off pretty quickly. Preserving the quality of the fish makes for a better tasting meal. Looks like they have some cheaper ones on Amazon, can’t say much for the functionality or durability. Hard to argue with the price.

I have been using an Opah Fathom K3 Kayak cooler bag https://opahgear.com/products/opah-kayak-bag-36 and have been putting it thru the ringer! Super durable! Fits perfect on the front of the kayak. It's definitely on the higher end of the kayak cooler bags but it comparing it to other bags Opah is by far the most durable! I have been able to keep ice in it for over two days! I'll use it while working on the charter boat as a kill box "liner" helps keep the ice slurry stay frosty. I think we have stuffed over 8 Halibut in it! Spiky fish haven't punctured anything. Plus it has backpack straps on it making carrying fish or supplies much easier! Would highly recommend this bag to fellow yakers. Hearing they are working on a version 2 to reduce the price and remove some of the "extra" features on the bag.

I run one of the taco style fish bags from Sea Angler -- it rides nicely between my seatback and crate and provides easy access for storing fish, retrieving bait, etc. I got the 36" x 20" pack and it handled a 40+ pound limit of salmon. https://www.seaanglergear.com/36x20-insulated-inshore-fishing-bag/

For cold I use one of these cooler shock packs - https://www.amazon.com/Pack-Large-Cooler-Freeze-Packs/dp/B00V9ITMYC - they keep everything nice and cool all day.

As a zippered bag it will leak in the car, but using the cold packs limits the amount of runoff.

Cheers,
Brad