I would like to hear from the veteran kayakers who use the yak primarily for fishing. List your top fishing kayaks. no explanation needed. Just your top choices. I think the list would be interesting because it would reveal whether or not the new innovations on the newer yaks are an improvement over the yaks of say 5-10 years ago or whether the veteran yak fisherman still prefer the older yaks-p-

Speaking just for the ones I have owned my self:
Pro Angler
OK Big Game
OK Scrambler

I've had lots of others but these are the only 3 that I would buy again.

Depends on if your fishing a lake, ocean, river, pond

Wilderness Systems

My list of the best SOT kayaks of all time.

Cobra
Fish-n-Dive (one of the best for offshore)

Hobie
Outback (First fishing kayak with mirage drive)
Pro Angler (practically a battleship, but great fishing platform)

Jackson
Coosa (one of the best for river/small body water)

Liquid Logic (now apart of Native Watercraft)
Manta Ray line up (the first manufacturer to realize we love comfy seats)

Malibu
X-Factor (A tank but one helluva fishing platform)
Mini-X (Great for surf and rivers)

Native Watercraft
Ultimate Line (Hybrid kayak/canoe)

Ocean
Scupper Pro & Scupper Pro TW (one of the best)
Scrambler (Put more people in kayak than any other)
Frenzy (Take a drive down PINS during Sharkathon, you'll see what mean)
Prowler 15 & 13 (the best selling line from Ocean)
Big Game (not the quickest, but definitely on my list)
Drifter
Trident Line (Honestly, I hate the deck layout but an awesome paddling yak)

Perception (Aquaterra)
Prism (Dominated the mid 90's)
Illusion (Follow up to the Prism, very popular in the early 2000's)
Bimini (A little longer than the Illusion because of tankwell)
Search 15 & 13

Wilderness Systems
The original T160 w/ tubs (possibly the fastest fishing kayak ever)
Pre 2009 Tarpon line - T160i, T140, T120 (probably the best selling line up ever.)
The Ride (one of the originals that was designed to allow an angler to stand up and fish, redesigned and called Ride 135)

Yes, I've had the pleasure of paddling all these kayaks, except the Jackson Coosa & latest Tarpon Line)

Am I missing any?

Jury is still out for the hybrid SUP (Diablo Paddlesports, NW Versa Board, etc...) and catamaran kayaks (Wavewalk, Kiwi, KC, etc....)

Coast - Perception Search 15 - own it and wouldn't want a different boat

Lake - Perception Search 13 - don't own it yet, but will. I would also look at the Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5/12 or Ocean Kayak Prowler 13

River - Wilderness Systems Ride - If I ever decide I want something new I would look at the Diablo Paddlesport Adios, Jackson Coosa, or the new Wilderness Systems Ride 115 or 135.

Ponds/Small Lakes - Wilderness Systems Ride - If I got one specifically for ponds I would look at the Malibu Mini-x, Native Watercraft Ultimate 9.5, or Wilderness Systems Tarpon 100.

The next kayak I buy will be a SUP.

Thought the PA wasn't technically a kayak? I read some where that it's actually classified as a small boat

you forgot heritage kayaks neumie. i guess it can go under liquid logic too though. The redfish is a great kayak.

It is a big boat.
Hobie calls it a mirage drive boat. To me it is a kayak. I paddle it almost as much as I peddle it. Just for the upper body work out.

2011 Hobie Outback

Native Manta Ray 12
Malibu Mini-X

The Redfish kayaks are solid, but I personally don't consider them one of the best kayaks of all time.

Again, quite a few of those are out of production and hard to find on the used market. If I were to start a Kayak fishing Museum, those kayaks would be in there.

It's a much longer list for current model kayaks.

To answer the OP's last question, you're going to be better off with a more current model than one from 10 years ago. A lot of kayaks haven't changed too much in the past 5 years. Current models have deck layouts that are better suited for fishing.

At this point, there are so many yaks I've never paddled I'm not sure I can consider myself an authority anymore... The Coosas and hybrids and Pro Anglers are awesome no doubt, but there are some things you just don't want to attempt with them. My list of the best yaks hasn't changed much in the past several years. I chose these because they are 12-14 footers that can do just about anything and they are the models that I believe are the most durable. OK, Malibu, and Cobra make some great platforms, but my limited experience with them has led me to believe that they are not quite as durable as the ones below. Durability is important to me...

-Native Manta Ray 12-14 (very solid, the slightly higher rocker on them makes them good for a wide variety of situations)
-WS Ride 135 (honestly probably the best all-round platform out there, you can stand in them, just hard getting to the standing position)
-WS Tarpon 120, 140, 160 -- probably the best tracking/fastest line of sot yaks out there...
-Redfish 12-14 good stuff too, best price...

The peddle yaks are amazing and certainly beat most of the above for long distance open water situations by a lot, but there are some types/areas of fishing that can damage the mirage drive or propellors. So they're faster and more efficent for sure, but they do have some design limitations. They above can handle just about anything...

I disagree

Neumie has some good ones. He know everything. Notice how many OKs he has listed.

Yota once said something like: he likes ocean kayak because they offer something for just about every kayak angler. I tend to agree. They offer some very versital yaks that don't break the bank. Also like Hobie, WS, Malibu & Cobra,