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Keep in mind that there's a stong relationship between the length of the yak and your ability to paddle fast and for a long time. You'll need more effort to paddle a 12' yak than a 14 footer, assuming everything else is equal.
I'm not sure there are too many differences between a lake kayak and an ocean kayak unless you're planning on doing surf launches, but you definitely want to take how far you want to paddle into consideration. I like a big tank well for coolers, anchors, drift socks, water, etc, etc, etc, but to each his own here. It's possible to get to the front hatch on the water, but not too easy, so figure the rear tank well will have to hold everything you need access to.
Ocean Kayak, Wilderness Systems, and Hobie are probably the most commonly used SOTs in the ocean - around me anyway.
I haven't visited the site in a long time, but kayakfishingstuff.com used to have a lot of good reviews and information on their forums.
If possible, call some local kayak shops and see if any of them are having "demo days" coming up so you can actually try one before you buy it.
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