New Kayaker From San Jose/Daly City/San Francisco

Hello,
 My name is Jason from the SF Bay Area and i am very new to kayaking. I couldn’t help but notice all the happy kayakers at Oyster Point Marina launch ramp returning from their fishing trips with loads of Halibut.  Would love to learn more about kayak fishing and perhaps getting into the hobby.

I also noticed the great majority of kayaks were the Hobie brand and a few were Old Town. However none were inflatable type kayaks.

Are inflatable kayaks not recommended for sf bay fishing?

Welcome to the madness 

Welcome to NCKA Jason.  Inflatable kayak like is probably ok for the calm water in the bay but it's not recommended in the ocean.

Welcome to NCKA Jason.   

Before I bought my hobie outback I had a sea eagle fasttrak angler because I lived in an apartment and had no where to store a hard shell kayak.  I brought it out in the ocean out of the Santa Cruz harbor once and also in the SF bay near redwood city once (pic attached).  It works and it feels relatively safe because it's super bouyant, but even the best inflatables are really tough to paddle if there is any wind.
 After about 20 trips I found it was getting really tedious to pump it up, set everything up, then when done dry everything, deflate and pack everything pack up and carry it back to the apartment.  Also it's basically impossible to get it 100% dry with all of the cracks and creases, so it's tough to go out on lakes that do an inspection.  Thinking back since it was my only option it was fun, but I could never see myself doing it again after using a pedal driven hard shell kayak, the difference is night and day better in every way.

I appreciate the friendly welcoming responses as well as the information and shared experiences. I currently have an Aquaglide Blackfoot 160 inflatable but perhaps i am better off with something like Hobie with a pedal drive system.

I did some research on the Hobie website and the Pro Angler 14 with the 360 pedal drive seems pretty trick. Not sure what size is appropriate for a 225 lbs. adult with gear.

How are the Hobie Pro Angler 360 kayaks? Are they worth the cost for a beginner? Any feedback would be appreciated.

If the outback and the pro angler were the same cost I'd personally still buy the outback.  My main reason is ease of transportation, if you have a truck or trailer the difference isn't as important, but if you are car topping the outback is a lot easier to take on, off, and launch in my opinion.  Another reason from speaking with the folks at the california kayak shop in RWC and Oakland is the 360 drive is a bit more prone to issues due to it being more complex.

Hobie also makes inflatable kayaks with the mirage drive system. I had one for a few years and took it to the Bay and ocean. The hobie inflatables solve the wind drift to a good extent with the mirage drive hanging down in the water. And I think the set up was as fast or faster than roof topping a hard shell. The main issue was fear of sharks in the ocean where I would get a bad feeling being a mile out alone. An exploratory bite that makes for a good story in a hard-shell would be a disaster in an inflatable. The second issue was lack of storage and no place for my dog.

The Pro Angler is a heavy beast and difficult to car top or surf launch. I would think the Outback would be large enough for you and seems to be the #1 choice for ocean kayak anglers. 
It's still pretty heavy to car top but more doable.
I think at CCK you should be able to test paddle different models for maybe $50, which can be applied to the purchase.
I test drove the Compass vs the Outback at the Redwood City location and chose the Outback.

The main issue was fear of sharks in the ocean where I would get a bad feeling being a mile out alone. An exploratory bite that makes for a good story in a hard-shell would be a disaster in an inflatable.

☝️This would definitely be a horrible situation 😵

Welcome to the club Jayson, I am new here also and new to the kayak fishing and gotta say I'm loving it, only downside it you start buying a lot of new gear, it's addicting but way fun, Ron.