Once you have your safety gear figured out and the boat 100% solid do yourself a favor and pay for Fishdope. The reports are good, but most important is the charts. Learn to use and read those, learn to read weather reports and forecasts and get out there and do it.
Offshore fishing is like looking for water in the desert. When me and my group of buddies put a plan together for fishing offshore we don’t say we are going to X miles and just drop in the line, we just try to figure out a likely area and have a general areas on the chart then check them out. While on the way to that likely area we keep a lookout as the plan can and should change as you go if you see anything. Take your time, go slower than you think you should, especially in any quality looking zones.
Don’t get hung up on going to specific banks just because someone said that’s a good spot. There are almost no “spots” when fishing offshore. The banks can hold life, but in most cases they are just general areas. For instance I might tell a buddy we found fish at the 302, but that could be within 10 or so miles in any direction of that bank. Was it on the inside of the 302, Outside edge, south or north, etc. It’s just a general area reference like a city is on a map.
Lots of trips you might literally see nothing. Others you might see fish and not catch. Get and use binoculars. One bird can make or break your day. Also, slow down. It’s very easy to overshoot a good area because you are focused on getting to a waypoint. Things change constantly and small clues are easy to miss.
Put your radio on 16 and leave it there. Only listen to 72 for entertainment. It’s the original form of fake news. There is so much BS on there that even if there was real news on there you wouldn’t be able to weed it out from the BS unless you know the person on the other end. People who are fishing in groups using 72 to communicate normally use codes anyways so unless you know the code there is know way for you to know what the real waypoint is. Then you toss in all the drunks fighting, idiots, racist BS, etc. Its not worth anything except a good chuckle unless you are working with someone else.
Don’t fish for boats. A group of boats could be a good thing, could also be a bunch of idiots.
Last tip: Failure is normal. You never hear about the bust trips but anyone who says otherwise is lying. Info from anyone who never has a bad trip is BS.
Going out, not getting hurt, not breaking anything on the boat and making it back safe is a good trip.
Good luck and stay safe.