Our answer to this question is “as much as possible – there’s no such thing as too much storage in a fishing kayak”. We believe that most experienced kayak anglers would adhere to this opinion, although it seems like some people who are affiliated with certain fishing kayak brands think there’s such a thing as “too much storage in a fishing kayak” 🙂
When a fishing kayak is concerned, the three fundamental questions pertaining to storage are:
- How much storage space does the kayak provide?
- How well does this storage space protect the gear stored in it?
- How easy and convenient it is for the kayak angler to reach the stored gear?
Even the biggest and most expensive fishing kayaks don’t offer a sufficient amount of storage space for a serious, long fishing trip. This includes SOT fishing kayaks, and Hybrid fishing kayaks that are so big, heavy and clumsy that paddling or pedaling them is hard, and so is car topping them. This is why they’re called ‘barge yaks’, and they require that you outfit them with a crate.
The only fishing kayak that provides as much storage space as you’d need for a fishing trip of any length is the W500 (and the 502, of course). The storage space in this kayak is protected from the elements, and you can always access it from inside the cockpit – even when you’re out on the water. This can’t be said about the typical storage solution that other fishing kayaks feature, which is called hatches.
Read more about storage in fishing kayaks >