One thing connects you to the fish - line. There are hundreds of types of lines with different chemical make-ups, sizes and colors. Often, line is the most over-analyzed aspect of fishing. Other times, it is the most often ignored detail in a setup.

In speaking with offshore pros, one aspect of line selection is common among many anglers. "A lot of anglers use line that is too heavy - way too heavy," said kingfish pro Ozzie Fischer of Team Yo-Zuri. "A lot of anglers just don't realize how many bites they don't get with larger than necessary line."

FLW Outdoors Magazine decided to survey three offshore experts and find out what type of line, especially the size, they use for their favorite offshore game fish, along with fighting characteristics of each fish how the pros prefer to battle each species.

Kingfish pro David Kingery of Team Folgers lives in Melbourne, Fla., and runs off the state's eastern shore as often as possible. His favorite fish are kings, sails and dolphin. "Although they fight differently - kingfish like to run and get under the boat, dolphin stay on top, and sailfish stay on top and jump more - my line and leader is the same for all three fish," Kingery said. "They tend to be about the same size, with the big fish being 30 to 40 pounds. And I fish for all three the same - slow-trolling live bait."

Kingery uses 20-pound-test Yo-Zuri Hybrid in smoke color with a 30 pound pink fluorocarbon leader. Of course, with kingfish, he also uses a wire leader. "I fight them with a loose drag," Kingery said. "I use my thumb a lot and just feel the fish. If the fish needs line, I give it line. I use the boat more than anything to get line back."

"Wahoo are like kingfish on steroids," said North Carolina pro Charlie Neal of Team Raymarine of the Wal-Mart FLW Kingfish Tour. "You can tell when you hook a wahoo. "Wahoo will spool a reel with 30-pound test line while a kingfish of the same size won't do that, if you know what you're doing."

Neal, a charter fisherman by trade, doesn't change setups very often for specific types of fish. He tends to have a couple setups and uses them for everything. "Most of my leaders are Yo-Zuri HD in pink," he said. "I will go from 40- to 100-pound test line, depending on how tough the bite is and if we're breaking off fish. My main line will be 50- to 80-pound Hybrid."

Kingery also likes to run 80 to 100 miles off the coast from Melbourne to get in the Gulf Stream to fish for yellowfin tuna. The average fish is 50 to 80 pounds, with a few that hit 100 pounds. And as often done with yellowfin, Kingery sticks with artificial baits. "I'll use 50- and 80-class reels for yellowfin," Kingery explained, "and rig them with Yo-Zuri Hybrid. Because these fish get pretty big, we'll use 200-pound fluoro leaders. Those fish will dive, and you don't want to leave them out long because a lot of times you'll have multiple hookups. I use the 80-wides off the transom so I can get those fish in the boat fast - the faster the better so you can then fight the fish on the outside lines."

"From December to the first of March, we fish for bluefin off the North Carolina coast," Neal said. "The average size is 450 to 700 pounds, so I'll use 600 yards of 80- and 130-pound braid with a 30-yard top-shot of fluoro leader. Five hundred yards can get ripped off a spool in no time. We'll go with leaders as light as 100-pound test to as heavy as 300-pound test. If we're getting broke off a lot, we'll go with the big stuff." Big bluefin fight differently in different areas. As Neal explained, a bluefin caught off of Cape Hatteras will dive because the water is deeper. Bluefin will often move in close to Morehead City in shallow water. In that area, the fish have nowhere to dive and will run. Despite the differences, Neal uses the same setup in both locations.

Fischer, from Ft. Myers, Fla., spends a great deal of time around Boca Grande Pass fishing for tarpon. His average fish weigh just over 100 pounds, and his biggest is 225 pounds. "For tarpon at Boca Grande, I find clear line works best, although I'm anxious to try the Yo-Zuri pink line there, which disappears in the water." Fischer said. "At Boca Grande, you need to make tarpon fight straight up and down. If they start to run out, they will saw off most lines on the underwater ledges. So if the fish goes to the bottom and tries to run, you have to move to stay on top of it. "I stick with 50-pound clear Yo-Zuri Hybrid. A tarpons mouth is like gritty sandpaper, and they'll usually chew threw 80-pound leaders by the time you get them to the boat, so I use 100-pound fluoro leaders. I've never had a tarpon chew through or break a 100-pound leader, although it gets roughed up. The abrasion resistance of fluorocarbon is a must, and you must retie your leader after every fish."

Fischer and crew also regularly target grouper in the Gulf, and as imagined, rigging is quite a bit different for this bottom fish, particularly in relation to the size of the fish. "Our average grouper is 8 to 15 pounds," Fischer said, "but we do catch some black grouper that will go 20 to 100 pounds. "We typically rig our grouper reels with 50-pound Hybrid. A 15-pound grouper will fight as hard as any fish for the first 10 to 20 feet off the bottom. You just have to turn them right away because they don't have to go very far to cut you off. After that, you've got them. "We usually catch them in 30 to 100 feet of water. In the winter, they'll move in closer to shore - three to eight miles out. "We'll go as light as 20-pound line, and you can beat them. It's amazing how much pressure you can put on 20-pound-test line before it breaks. You can land some big fish. But the more cover grouper are in, the heavier you have to go. And when it comes to leaders, depending on the structure we're fishing, I'll go as heavy as 80-pound pink flouro.

So whether you are looking for walleye, bass or musky, find some weeds and toss a few crankbaits. This early summer pattern has proven consistent for me year after year. If you give it a try it should also be good to you.

What we have now is a shark that appears to have a mind that it's using. At any rate the shark did head directly toward the anchor ball and did get tangled in the line. Now this when the story gets real interesting. When Paul saw the direction in which the shark was heading he tighten down the drag a bit. Normally when a fisherman does this the pressure it applies to the fish might and hopefully causes it to change direction a bit. In this case Paul wanted to definitely detour the shark. It didn't help the shark ran across the line and you aren't going to believe what happened. The 80 pound test YO-ZURI HYBRID line sliced right through the anchor rope. They ended up landing the Mako shark, which weight in at 276 pounds. The shark was 7'1" long and had a 54" girth. Now that's a nice shark! Congratulation goes out to Paul Michele of YO-ZURI for not only his fine catch, but also his fine line! I'm sure that Paul is going to buy his fishing friend Ozzie a new anchor! I have one suggestion before I close out on this great fish story. "Not only do you need to purchase some of this line, but you also need to use it!" Anchor line cutting at its finest hour!

 Blend: Yo-Zuri Hybrid is a TRUE blend of fluorocarbon and nylon fishing lines. Don’t be fooled by other brands that are merely a coating of fluorocarbon. The other brands coating will crack, chip, and peel causing weakening and breakage of the line during everyday fishing conditions. The coating will not stretch while the nylon will. This causes the outer coating to crack (among other disadvantages) and causes weakening. Yo-Zuri Hybrid is a blend and as a result doesn’t have this problem.

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