re: Kayak suggestion

I started off with a Pelican Castaway sit on top for that exact thing. Mostly to duck hunt in Saline on some of those land locked sloughs and occasionally fish. Now I mostly fish and also have a kid to bring with me. I tried several out at Pack & Paddle in Laffayette, and would suggest you do the same. Since you're looking for a tandem, something stable and easy to hunt out of, I'd suggest a Nucanoe Frontier or a Native Ultimate. They're both in the $1300 range though, so you'll have to look around for the price range you want. I mostly fish out of my Ultimate 14.5 tandem, but is perfect for duck hunting with a bunch of decoys and gear. The Nucanoe is really stable with a high enough weight capacity to get a deer out if needed. The Nucanoe is not as easy of a paddle though, so it depends how far you need to paddle. The bonus is that it has a motor mount for a trolling motor, and you can put high pedestal boat seats in it. My dad has one (mid 60's) and he got it for stability. He's gone froggin with two grown men in it before. Another one to consider is a KC Kayak. It's not as durable though with the type of plastic they use, so wouldn't recommend if throwing into and out of boats and dragging it around the woods alot.

Nucanoe Frontier 12
Native Ultimate 14.5
KC 12