OK Malibu II I can’t speak to the other boats. But I fish from an OK Malibu II and it does alright. Not great, but does what I ask it to. For now, I’m using a Surf to Summit fisherman seat to hold rods and I tied a couple of short lines with loops and 'biners to clip miscellaneous stuff to. To hold tackle in Plano 3700’s, I just clip the existing straps through the shoulder straps of an old ruck sack. It’s terrible for skinny water, but does much better than I or anyone else on the trip expected in rough stuff.
I fish rivers, so if you’re fishing bays or oceans, I can’t help. This particular boat is designed as a recreation tandem or single for surf zones, so it should be alright there too. The great part is that outfitters and rental companies all along the coast use them, so you can get one used at a pretty good price.
OK Malibu II - too! I own two Malibu IIs with one rigged for fishing. I like the flexibility of the tandem (my 8 year old would sleep in it with a rod at hand if he could), as well as the way it handles in the surf zone. Since these two boat nest well, I stack them on my racks if I have my gear box loaded with paddles.
My main complaint is there is almost no rear storage.
We have a cart which makes transport a snap - can even strap both Yaks on top for short treks even on the beach. I’ve even towed one carted boat with my bike more than once!
Hatches Have you put in any of the hatches? If so, did it help with storage? I’m considering installing two of the possible three hatches and mounting a flushmount rod holder holder (like the Scotty) in the center space for a hatch.
I’ve installed hatches before amd was pleased with the results. they aren’t hard to install and the archives have tons of advice. as for my favorite sot for fishing the tarpon 140 gets my vote. buy more yak than you think you’ll need, I’m dragging Mann’s stretch lures which are i12" long and slamming big groupers.
I don’t know if you have purchased yet… …but I would look at the Malibu X-Factor. I have posted about this yak in several forums, and I can not say enough good things about it. Look into it and do some web research. It is a relatively new Kayak to the market, but it is stable, roomy, and tracks very well. It has places for six flush mount rod-holders, a molded rear storage area thatfits either a fivegallon bucket or a milk-crate. There is also plenty of dry storage space, and a HUGE front hatch for dry storage purposes. This yak was made for kayak fishing. (and I can bring my sonS with me (8 and 10) when it warms up of course…LOL).
Hatches are no problem I have 2 hatches on my Malibu and they work fine - the gaspachi covers are very watertight. Make sure to rivet a “u” underneath (in addition to the one on top) so you can tie a dry bag.