How many people carry a cooler?

[lovett88]

So quick question. As my trips get longer over the summer months I tend to carry a small igloo cooler. What do you guys carry/recommend for a good day cooler? Some days its between a milk crate or a cooler...how do you rig for a long day out on the water. Id love to see some setups! Tight lines and thanks in advance.

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[Mark]

I assume you mean to keep drinks cool, not to hold fish. I don't carry a cooler but a long outing for me is only 4 or 5 hours tops. I'll bring a couple of 500 ml bottles of water during warm weather. They stay cool enough for my taste in my crate or BlackPak, or under my seat. In winter, however, when pickerel fishing on ponds, I bring a thermos bottle of hot coffee for a warmup sip.

[ronaultmtd]

Plus one for Mark’s post...same here...I have a stringer for the fish if I plan on keeping any...mostly catch and release...and like most of the old timers on here I downsize, carry less...at my age, five hours on the water is plenty and it is a tide cycle...

[J.A. Veil]

Like Mark and Ron, I never carry a cooler. I do not bring fish home, so no cooler is needed for that. I bring 1 or 2 bottles of water with me depending on the heat and projected length of time on the water. I am used to drinking water at ambient temperature so no cooler is required for that.

[Oldbayrunner]

I carry an igloo marine soft cooler in my car for any fish I may want to take home but on the water I keep a small soft lunch cooler for food. Water & coffee I keep in a thermos containers that fit my cup holders.

[Mark]

What I also carry (in my PFD pocket or dry bag) is a CLIF Bar or granola bar. I considering it refueling. Paddling and/or pedaling must burn a lot of calories. When I'm starting to drag on a long outing it's amazing how downing one of those small but high calorie snacks can re-energize me.

[moc]

I might be a little different than the fine fishermen that have posted so far. Yes, I am a little younger than the previous folks but I still carry a cooler for organizational purposes. I too have paired down my tackle on what I carry out on the water. Once I figured out that there are just a handful of tackle that I would carry that catches 95% of the fish. We do eat a lot of fish. I would leave a small cooler in the car to take fish home. On the water I would use a diver's stringer that I love. The only reason that I have a cooler on my kayak, is not for fish, but for storage on and off the water. When I am on the water, the cooler quickly mounts in my tank well since it is attach with bungees. 4 rod holders are mounted to the back and a cutting board is mounted with bungees to the lid. The inside of the cooler will be mostly empty since most of my tackle fits in my life vest or my Hobie's side rubber pockets. So what do I use the inside of my cooler for? It is basically a hard shell dry bag. I can put a rain jacket in there when needed. I also find that when I place drinks/water in a small soft lunch cooler, it fits inside of the hard cooler. My drinks tend to stay colder over a longer period of time with the double insulation of the hard cooler and the small lunch cooler.

When get off of the water, all of my gear can fit in the cooler. So it is great in packing up and storing my gears in the car. My cooler would hold my fish finder, 4 removable rod holders, knife, phone bag, stringer, fish grips, sun block, hat, de-hooker, marine radio, some soft plastics that I always use, maybe a head lamp (when crabbing and night fishing), and my folding ruler. All of this fits in my small cooler so in between trips, it prevents me from forgetting to bring stuff since all those items are with me. So even though my cooler gets mounted on my kayak, it helps keeping the inside of my car less cluttered.

[clm]

I have a "cooler bag". It's a military "A" bag, the type issued for chem gear. I lined it with the foil bubble wrap stuff, then toss in some frozen water bottles. I have a few empty heavy plastic dog food bags that any fish I catch that I keep go into for the ride home. It sits nicely on the bow of the outback, and gives me a place to lay the paddle when I lay it down to pick up the rod...I routinely stand and paddle it like a paddle board and cast standing up.

[rwh]

I use a soft cooler bag. It fits nicely between my seat and the rear well bulkhead. Instead of ice, I keep 4 32oz Gatorade bottles of water in the freezer & I just toss them in there. They last all day, even on a really hot day. I don't worry about separating fish from my drinks & pb&j sandwiches. They go in ziplocs & a plastic grocery bag on top, the fish go under the Gatorade bottles. Works great for me.
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[BarefootPetr]

I have a Yeti Hopper 20 (found on discount on Ebay) that I bring when I want to keep fish, which is not very often. It is a little bulky, but keeps everything cold all day. If you are looking for a cheaper alternative I recommend a Coleman 30, which provides a lot of space, decent chilliness to keep things cold, and does not take up much space in a kayak. Also, one way to keep your water cold is to fill a water bottle 2/3 full, freeze it overnight, then put some water in it.

[Jman]

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I use a Igloo Marine cooler I found at Walmart for about $20. It fits in the rear tank well of my Outback perfectly and I secure it using the bungees provided. The modifications I made were to add the rod holder rack, insulate the hatch, and a sticker or two. Adding a hinge to secure the hatch could also be helpful depending on what you use it for.

[moc]

That is a very similar set up to mine with the same
Cooler.

[silasvirus82]

I've thought about adding a fish cooler many times, but it's just one more thing to deal with both on and off the water, and with ice it adds considerable weight. My cargo area is generally full with either a live well or blackpak, so the only place to go is the front of the boat which makes it less accessible. Generally speaking I bring a couple Nalgene bottles of water, and I don't really care if they are cold. If I really wanted cold water I could freeze them overnight and drink as they thaw. For keeping fish a stringer has served me well.

[Redfish12]

I have the same cheap igloo white cooler that is used for bottom fishing meat hunts a few times a year. JMan, how did you insulate the lid? It’s a pretty bad cooler!

[NattyBoh74]

I have the same cheap igloo white cooler that is used for bottom fishing meat hunts a few times a year. JMan, how did you insulate the lid? It’s a pretty bad cooler!

Pretty sure you drill holes and fill with Cannes expandable foam