[togzilla]

I’ve been tuna party boat fishing since 1994 and I think the best advice I can give you is go with a rental rod. The Voyager is my favorite boat and there rental equipment is perfectly fine. The tuna chunk bite for yellowfin/longfin has not been very good (overall)in the past few years so before you lay out $500 for a new set that may never even experience a bite go with the rental for your first time. If you really enjoy it and plan on going again stop by and see Kevin Bogan and he will set you up with the right rod. There were many good suggestions on reels by others so I am not going to comment other than make sure you’re buying a reel capable of holding at least 350-400yard of mono. You can also go smaller on the reel size and use braid with at least a 100 yards of mono top shot but make sure that reel has enough drag to handle the 100lb tuna or occasional large sword. Make sure you base your rod and reel decision on party boat tuna chunking as this requires different tackle than private boat chunking.
The first chunking trip I did in 1994 on a party boat I landed 5 yellowfin and the next day I went out and dropped $800 on a new set up and was hook for life. That’s back when the cost was $180 including tip! Good luck.