Will,
Welcome to the forums
and you got some good advice here. Now, here's where it can get sticky pretty quick with some anglers about wetness with a kayak. Some SOT kayaks will hold more water in the cockpit than other makes or models will. Some will hold it in the seat, some will hold it in the footwells, some in both places. Ocean Kayak on some models has the seat bucket pretty low, which can move the footwells about even with or in some cases below the waterline. Hence, more water in them because it comes in the scupper holes. Malibu Kayaks tends to have the seat higher and thus drier than some brands, also Cobra kayaks also tend to be drier than alot of other brands.
Some anglers say 'Kayaking is a water sport, and expect to get wet". Well, for themselves their right. For everyone, I'm not so sure. There's being wet in some places, then there's having to use scupper plugs so you don't have an inch or so of standing water in the cockpit with you. Some anglers don't mind, and others mind alot. Waders can be a big help to stay dry as long as you observe their safety precautions while using them.
Like WR brought up, maybe you may be better off with another type of watercraft all together. If you don't mind me asking, is it the cost or portability or distance kayaks can cover that makes it appealing? Maybe we can bounce some ideas around and see what we come up with. TC&TL,
Perry