Weather is key for boating safety especially when heading off shore. If you are careful with the days you pick to go out there with decent weather/wind you would be fine. It's a long way to go out (if that's where the warm water lines are) but twin motors aren't a necessity if you want to be safe; make sure you go with other guys in other boats and it would help if some of the others have twins just in case someone has a mechanical break down and needs to get towed in then twins would help with a long distance tow in for sure. It is a great fishery and there is a lot of great comradery going on with a lot of great guys out there doing the same things we all love to do and helpful folks who like to see others do well and be safe so guys share info, and usually fish around other guys in some of the same areas so usually there are multiple boats within VHF range of each other. I take a sat phone with me as well just in case we are out of VHF range. There are also the commercial guys out there too who are usually in some of the same areas and are usually within VHF range. But like I said traveling with other boats is a great safety thing and communicating game plans with others in advance I think is also very important.
Fuel is another main concern. Make sure you have more than enough and make sure you are back in before the fuel seller closes so you have enough for the next day.
We headed out before sun up and were back in to refuel before they closed or if we had more than enough for the next day too then we stayed out till dark. One of our best days was the fish hitting before dark. It was none stop action of double, triple and quad hits that night.
Ice is a must and you should make plans about that too. You can talk to other fishermen and locals from where you are gonna fish to find out where you can get bulk amounts of ice from the commercial suppliers etc..Bleeding the fish quickly and putting them on ice right away is essential.
Launching will depend on where you want to fish out from ie Bamfield, Ukee, Tofino, or even further north up the west side further. That too depends on where the warm water wants to settle in around at different times..But if your trip is booked ahead of time at a certain place you have to plan accordingly.
I went with just one friend in my boat last year. And the extra moving around space with just two guys (we were running 6 lines out most of the time) is nice but a third guy would be beneficial cause there is a lot going on at times like putting lines in and out, multiple fish hitting at the same time, bleeding and icing the fish, steering/navigating, and spotting surface breaking fish are all equally important tasks when tuna fishing. Too many guys on board can make it difficult too so depends on things like boat space, $ splitting, etc etc..
You will need to get the Terrafin app
http://www.terrafin.com/ to monitor the water temps/locations. And keep in mind the site is often not updated before heading out the next day before dawn to fish again. So if you can identify a pattern of where that water is moving to and where guys are getting fish then you can use that info to plan your next days fishing then when you get back in internet range you can check the Terrafin site again to see any updates.
And having a good weather app is essential too like:
http://www.buoyweather.com/ Both those sites you pay for full use of the sites.
Having a good sonar/chart you can mark where you were getting fish is essential and quickest routes out and back to the harbor etc. Having radar is essential cause the fog can roll in so thick you can't see much around you. You will need reels with very good drags on them to hold back the Tuna. Last year the average fish size was bigger than other years and this year may be the same. They fight much much harder than even a very large Spring so the reels and rods need to reflect that. I brought my Shimano Hali/Sturgeon rods and bought some new Avet reels for the Tuna. I needed some new Hali/Sturgeon reels anyway so it was that time anyway. They are great two speed heavy drag reels.
The amount you are gonna spend is up to you and your crew and the gear you want to buy, where you stay, how long you fish for etc..
Chasing the fish is all about sharing information with the other guys out there in other boats, checking the sat images for warm water, and physically standing up (safely lol) on a raised area on your boat to sight spot surface breaking tuna, and looking for birds feeding on bait and for bait breaking the surface. All those things can help locate the tuna. Some times you can find yourself only a hundred yards away from breaking fish but if you aren't on top of them with your gear you may not get a bite. I spent most of my time sight spotting fish and racing over to them or heading in a direction to cut them off in the path they were heading. It's a fishery unlike too many others. Very exciting and challenging and rewarding
I would crew up before spending money on gear and accommodations etc. It's easy to spend money but it's not always easy to get a crew together at certain dates.
Hope some of this info can help you out. I was on the fence about going Tuna fishing for years. Once I did it I am now hooked for life.
It was guys I met on this forum who helped me with info in getting into this fishery and it is appreciated greatly. A big shout out to those guys!
