Kayak fishing is great fun. Do some research on the various boats, be advised that the weight capacity is misleading. You should only use around 65% of the published capacity, total.
Braid is frowned upon on the pier. Depending on the crowd, you will get tangled with other anglers, braid being more difficult to clear than mono. I do use it for casting for Spanish. Live lining is better with a high visibility mono and a wire leader.
If you go to the Gulf State Park Pier there will be locals willing to gaff or net your catch. Your Surf gear will be of little use. Most use spinning tackle for the Spanish Mackeral, trout and redfish, a 4000 series reel is plenty. For Kings and Cobia and the occasional Tarpon, 8 to 10 spinning...
Okuma makes reasonably price live liner, openface(spinning reels) that give you what you want with the flick of a lever. I have several and they work great. Around $60
The 10' Bass Raider sold at Dicks is very stable for 2 grown men, can get cramped if you take a bunch of gear. A 13' River Hawk would also work well and uses a much more efficient hull design. The 15' B 52 is even better.
You may be cheating yourself by not fishing the beach. We go to American Beach, with a permit and a 4x4 you can drive right out on the beach. Using a Surf rod and a double Pompano rig (Wal Mart) and a 3 oz or heavier pyramid sinker, you can catch Pompano, Whiting, Bluefish, Sharks, Redfish...