Jed,
I got 1 word to say to cure your problem.
NNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT T!!!
Rapala makes a cool folding landing net that ought to fight in your yak just fine. I bought one at Target for $20.00. The hoop part calapses which makes it easy to stow in the storage compartment.