I'm sure this has been brought up before, any recommendations on a sorta budget friendly kayak for some more casual surf fishing taking baits out farther and or paddling around in the bays? Would the simple ones from acadamy work at all or just a bad idea?

I have a 12 foot Ascend kayak from Bass Pro... it's basically stock, no pedals or electronics. Used it several times for inshore bay fishing in Galveston/Houston Bay and also in Wolf Bay Alabama. It works fine, but it is not a rough water kayak. Son in Law has a Wilderness Systems Recon 120 pedal drive that works well for him...same areas! I think it would be fine for light surf. We fish mostly freshwater lakes in North TX, but not afraid to travel to the coast for some inshore saltwater...

You'll want a sit-on-top for surf launches. Pretty much any kayak will float and will catch fish. The premium ones will last longer. Get the simple one from Academy -- just be sure it's a sit-on, not a sit-in. If you find you want to expand your horizons later you'll have a better idea of what you want in a higher end yak. I actually prefer the yaks that aren't "fisherman models", I can set up the rod holders the way I want on aftermarket mounts and not have to work around the OEM installations. But I tend to set mine up simply; I install my transducer inside the hull, run a simple monochrome 4" sonar unit, and three Scotty or Railbalza mounts for fly rods (2 aft and one forward) and an anchor trolley. No big-screen TV with all the bells and whistles and no Go Pro mounts (no Go Pros at all aboard my yaks), and no hard coolers, baitwells, or kitchen sinks. Nothing against the guys who do that, it just isn't me. But a budget-friendly Academy yak will catch just as many fish as a PA 14 with a 12" chartplotter, three cameras, and a refrigerator/freezer & recliner.