Fisherboy,
Welcome to our forums here
I'm sorry to say, but I think some of the reason you got so few replies to to questions is because of the questions themselves. Alot were about what would be safe, or tides and such. On the forums, one has to be ever so careful about answering questions related to safety. What may be considered safe for myself may not be safe for you or the next guy, and without knowing all the details, conditions, and paddlers involved, how can one answer correctly? Tides and currents are always a crap shoot to answer at best. You can have the same rate of flow in a main channel and be off to the side of it under certain conditions and barely have to paddle. A few feet further out in the channel or a different location and a 6lb anchor may not be enough to hold a kayak in a place, and the strongest paddler may eeek out just 100 yards and be exhausted. And you asked about gators? Please keep in mind that when we're kayak fishing, your butt is about 6 inches above the water. Ask yourself "How many animals that are large carnivores can man run faster than, swim faster than, or climb faster than?".
I think the best thing you could do if you're serious about kayak fishing considering your age and location is to get hooked up with a kayak or fishing guide and do some trips with them first. From the questions you asked, it sounds like there is ALOT going on and I think someone needs to be there with you when you get started. Safety is paramount in this sport, so please make safety your first and foremost consideration.
There is another forum back east that alot of the members are around the states you're considering kayak fishing in. I think because they may know the areas better and whatnot, it may be best if you ran some of your questions by them and see what they shoot back at 'ya. The forums are located at
http://www.kayakfishingstuff.com They deal in some of the Southern States and have a cajun forum also. Hopefully this reply will help, Take Care and Be Safe,
Perry