Are the non Hobie pedal drives THAT bad?

I'm looking to spend around a grand or less for a used pedal drive kayak. I've seen a few here around denver, but haven't jumped on them due to research overload. I've kayak fished many times with just a paddle and it is quite a pain in the butt and I'm always envious of any that I see with a pedal drive. It can be extremely windy here in Denver and the kayak moving while fishing sure is annoying even with a anchor. The lake nearest me and a few others do not allow any powered Motorcraft at all, so just slapping a trolling motor on it would not serve the same purpose and allow me access to the same lakes.

Based on my deep research, the Brooklyn kayaks are pretty terrible so I'm avoiding those. Are some of the other pedal drives out there, like the fin Drive ones which I think I would prefer due to not getting tangled, really that bad? Is it better for me to just get a good non-pedal drive kayak and stick with it and maybe get a trolling motor for those Lakes I can use it, and then just avoid a pedal drive until I can get a hobie?