"a spray skirt would help, and I may outfit with float bags for next springs trip down the pine so that I can play more),"

pgh,

change that "may" to should!  floatation bags do help keeping out some of the water, but they are mainly to help keep your boat from pinning on a rock.. by displacing enough water to keep the boat floating much higher that without bags, you significantly reduce the chance and or severity of a pin, and increase your ability to self rescue (boat floats much higher - upside down, they will be right on top of the water) - which is kinda important on a solo trip especially, eh?  but still important on group trips.

I've never been sold on the notion of spray skirts - lots of northern river trippers use them, but there is an increased risk of entrapment, and you need to have a really strong setup to keep the heavy ww from collapsing them.... and if you do get water in the boat, you will have a loaded boat to deal with, increasing odds of a pin and making it more difficult to self rescue.. but I don't have any real experience to say yay or nay for sure.