A soft cooler is the right call for kayak fishing.

Yes. Get a good soft cooler like a YETI Hopper Flip 8 or an RTIC Soft Pack. Hard coolers are heavy, awkward to shove through a small hatch, and take up too much space.

The biggest issue is hatch size. Most kayak hatches are 8 or 10 inches round. A hard cooler that fits through that opening is tiny—barely holds a lunch and a few cans. A soft cooler compresses, flexes, and slides in. It’s also lighter, so you won’t feel it during a long paddle.

Durability-wise, decent soft coolers are tough enough for a season of dragging around the boat. They won’t crack like a hard one if you drop it. The trade-off is less ice retention compared to a rotomolded hard cooler, but for a day trip it doesn’t matter. If you really need a hard cooler, the Pelican 20QT Elite is the smallest that actually fits a standard round hatch and performs well—but it’s heavy and costs more.

Don’t overthink it. A soft cooler is lighter, easier to fit, and cheaper. That’s the answer for 90% of kayak anglers.