Oh man, that's a lot of stuff to cover. You'll answer a lot of these questions yourself by simply back reading the general board archives or searching for keywords.
I'll touch on your first question though:
There are many great kayak manufactures and it seems most all of them have at least a couple kayaks suitable for our local fishing. I would advise a sit-on-top kayak for starters and generally something at least 12' long for fishing on unprotected open water. The next decision is pedal vs. paddle; It's something that may be decided by your budget. Before you buy you should try to rent a bunch and get a feel for what you like.
There's one more thing I wish I had done before I purchased a kayak. I wish I would have rented a kayak from somewhere and transported it to another location (ex. Sport Chalet). Kayaks feel a lot bigger when you're trying to roof-top it on your car or trying to drag it down the beach. I learned a ton about kayak ownership on day one I could have learned before hand.
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