I'm taking my first 30 hour tuna trip out of Galveston next month... Never fished for tuna and was wondering if my C3 7000 would be suitable for 'chunk' fishing. We catch big gar,cats, buffalo, and carp with all the time, but not sure if 20 lbs of drag can handle ocean fish...

Should be fine for black fin but a healthy yellowfin will empty that reel

Thanks for the feedback... What's a healthy sized one that would spool me? You Tube shows Tuna being caught that don't seem much bigger or stronger than a grass carp and they also show others that are the size of a small car...

In our neck of the woods you have a chance of snagging a 150lb tuna -- it'll destroy that reel. Typical one -- 60lb. You need a reel with 35-40lb drag and good amount of line 120lb-strong. Set the drag real tight.
Fin Noir LT100 is the cheapest you can go for tuna fishing (for spinning reel).

a used Torium 20 or 30 is a great entry-level, medium-range offshore
conventional that will do a ton of work, including tunas to 50 or 60#,
without breaking, & serve you well for a long time
good working drag for Gulf tuna fishing is 18-23#, well within the torium's range.
you can find them for about $90-100 in good fishable condition.
I recommend leaving the Abu at home.

Good advise above .Bobby has caught some nice one's on the torium .The 7000 may hold up but you're fellow anglers won't be happy having to wait on you to get your fish in .

A 2 speed reel will make your life much easier on big tuna, especially for that last 30 to 50 yards that they bulldog sideways in the death spiral.

Ck out ancient mariner reels. I'm thinking about trying some of them out soon.

Several years back i went on a couple of trips on the Big E using the same reel and a 7'6" rod, spooled with 20 lb Ande. While its probably not the ideal rig, its a blast. we were throwing topwater baits and caught a couple of yellow fin that were 60-65 lbs. this size will come close to spooling you, but it can be done. any bigger, probably will spool you. After a couple this size, your reel will probably be toast. Black fin are a blast on this set up.

IMO check out Ebay and look for a used Shimano TLD 30, black Polymer. We put 60# braid on it with 100yds of 80# mono top shot, they are 2 speed and light. Will last you for ever if you take care of it...my 2 cents

Have fun going on a trip and watch the other guys catch the tuna that's how you can learn how to catch tuna you need to watch somebody else do it and then borrow their rod you're not going to catch nothing if you don't know what you're doing

Spinning rods are for crappie

anyone ever try Garcia 10,000 2 speed?

Not all TLD reels are two speeds. Only the trolling reels. Just an FYI since I have both types.

what is the date of your trip?I am going in December and if you are on the same trip I will happy to assist in the ways of fishing for tuna.I have plenty of tackle ,conventional and spinning.