I kayak often and have used many brands a good seat is a must that old town vapor is a great yak but I would upgrade the seat alot of us just throw a Turkey seat pan in and it helps alot depending it you want storage and where I fish out mine regularly I can put a bucket behind my seat for fish and have 2 selves to hold rods but yea check Wal-Mart Dunhams dicks etc the ones at Wal-Mart are actually really nice for the price

If you didn't buy a kayak yet make sure you sit in it first in the store, some are wider than others. We've had 9.5 sit-in kayaks from Dicks for ten years for fishing or floating and very happy with them. Watch the ads or wait till day after Thanksgiving and you can get a Perception brand 9.5 ft. for less than $200. 

i have a perception pro 12 sit on top....it has a stadium type seat that has an upper and lower position...the seat is very comfortable...i have spent over 4 hours at a time fishing in it without issue...  the kayak itself is very stable. it tracks well and paddles easily... it weighs 63 lbs...i have 3 rod holders and a fish finder on it...so far i love it and have used it on lake erie walleye fishing in spring at nite and on some inland lakes as well...i have not tryed it on french creek but have plans to do so.......i did alot of research and read tons of reviews before i bought the kayak..this brand seemed to be the best overall fit for lake and river fishing... i bought it in franklin they had the lowest price even beating the online prices...i paid about $800 for it..and a paddle for $50.... so tax and all just about $900 ....seems like alot but it will get me on the water after ice out before the docks are in for my bigger boat and in the fall when the docks are pulled.... i can recomend  this kayak without hesitation  ....good luck 

Thanks for all the info lots of good input.
 
FM62,  how was the night fishing up there this year ? Do you have lights rigged up too ?
I noticed a few kayakers on Pymy fishing late but come dark they headed in. I thought they were leaving too early , that's when the best bite was on.

Lots of tips on buying and rigging on this site.
http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/forum/
 
One of the members landing a 55", 42# cobia BTB (beyond the breakers).  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kA_iMC_IFFA
 
Lots of the Texas kayakers regularly take their kayaks several miles out into the gulf of mexico for snapper, sharks, kings, cobia, etc.  
 
One of my buddies down there would regularly land 5-7' sharks and TONS of bull reds.

CAPTAIN HOOK
I noticed a few kayakers on Pymy fishing late but come dark they headed in. I thought they were leaving too early , that's when the best bite was on.

That is another issue that I personally had with my kayak.  I did have a light system set up for it and big plans for wipers to pull me around the lake, but was always just too uneasy to have it out late.  I've run into sunken brush in my fishing boat, that almost knocked me over board.  Definitely would have been a night time swim on my kayak.  Not saying it can't be done, but I much prefer to either wade or be on a stable boat late at night when I can't see and fighting off exhaustion.

eyesandgillz
 
Lots of the Texas kayakers regularly take their kayaks several miles out into the gulf of mexico for snapper, sharks, kings, cobia, etc.  
 

If I can ever convince the wife to move to Florida or any saltwater area, I'd have to invest in a wave runner and trick out for fishing.  Any wind picking up a few miles out on a yak, and you're playing with fire.  Those fishing modified wave runners are awesome.  You can buy 20 kayaks for the price though...

i bought an expandable curtain rod just the cheapy white opens to 4ft ...then i bought one of those life jacket beacon lites coast guard approved ...and duct taped to the rod ...instant boat lite....i stick it in my pvc rod holder and it lets boats see i'm there ...i only got out 3 times 2 skunks 3rd time 2 monster sheephead...but i heard the guys that got on a reg basis did ok going to buy one of the battery operated bow lites for the kayak so i'm for sure seen by all boats
i fish because the voices in my head tell me to

Porktown

eyesandgillz
 
Lots of the Texas kayakers regularly take their kayaks several miles out into the gulf of mexico for snapper, sharks, kings, cobia, etc.  
 

If I can ever convince the wife to move to Florida or any saltwater area, I'd have to invest in a wave runner and trick out for fishing.  Any wind picking up a few miles out on a yak, and you're playing with fire.  Those fishing modified wave runners are awesome.  You can buy 20 kayaks for the price though...

What are you going to do when you are 10 miles out on the jet ski and it breaks down?  :-)  Several guys do that too and definitely looks like a lot of fun and way more economical than a boat.  I think I would sill opt for a boat though if / when I live on the coast.  Hard to beat a nice 26'+ CC with T-top and twins fully rigged for 60 miles in....
 
If you get a top of the line Hobie kayak with foot pedals, you could handle most of what the gulf could throw at you within a couple miles from shore (if you are smart about picking your days of course and watch for pop up storms).  You can get those things going pretty fast with foot and arm power.  A nice, stable, SOT is the best for that type of fishing and if you do turtle it, you can flip it and get back into it.  I did dump a few times in 5+ footers in the surf taking shark lines out and I was able to get back in but, that was 10+ years ago now....not sure I could fight the waves and "gravity" right now and do it.
 
Man all this talk of the salt made me miss days like this!  This wasn't even one of our best days.
http://extremecoast.com/reports/report091104.php

Dang!  I take it holding the sharks by the pectoral fins, calms them down a bit.  No thanks on carrying a bull shark like that in knee deep water...  Nice mixed bag of fish.  No doubt on the 26'+ boat.  With shore fishing that good, I'd have a hard time justifying a $80k boat purchase, unless I was a charter captain or hit the lottery.