Rigs Lab · Gear & fly fishing rigs + leaders
The rig builder and library for fishing. Lay out every cut, knot and turn to scale, start from a photo of a formula in a book, on a website or in your notebook, then publish it for anglers everywhere to tie, clone, share, print and fish.
Build it to scale
Every section, knot and turn, drawn the way you tie it, with the cut list worked out for you.
Start from a photo
Snap a formula from a book, a website or your notebook and it comes back as a rig you can edit.
Test it in the tank
Watch it drift, sink and turn over before it ever touches the water.
Share it, print it
Publish it to the library, send the link, or print a card for your vest.
11 rigs
An 8-foot dry fly leader built on the simple 50-25-25 rule: half the length in a stiff butt, a quarter in the middle and a quarter in tippet. It steps from 48 inches of 30 lb mono to 24 inches of 20 lb and 24 inches of 10 lb, joined with double uni knots. The heavy tippet and short, punchy taper make it a leader for big dries such as hoppers, stoneflies and foam bugs.
A 6-foot (72 inch) streamer leader for floating lines. It runs 36 inches of 25 lb mono (.021"), 24 inches of 16 lb mono (.016") and 12 inches of 10 lb fluorocarbon tippet (.011"). The heavy butt and short length turn over weighted and bulky streamers with control, and the fluoro tip is tough against teeth, rocks and wood.
An 8-foot (96 inch) three-piece dry fly leader built from the 25-15-10 formula: 36 inches of 25 lb mono, 36 inches of 15 lb and 24 inches of 10 lb. It is quick to tie from three spools and turns over big, wind-resistant dries such as hoppers, stoneflies, large foam flies and bass bugs.
An 11-foot leader built on the half-again formula: each section is half the length of the one above it. It runs 60 inches of 30 lb mono, 30 inches of 20 lb and 15 inches of 15 lb, then a 27 inch tippet of 12 lb. The long, heavy butt carries the cast's energy down to the fly, so it turns over weighted and wind-resistant flies for flats and warm-water fishing.
A 7-foot bass bug leader after Steve Rajeff's formula: five sections of mono stepping from a .028" butt to a .014" tippet, joined with blood knots. The long, heavy butt and short taper carry wind-resistant poppers and hair bugs and turn them over on a 6-8 wt line. It is built for casting bugs tight to cover, not for delicacy.
A 10-foot leader for big bass on 6-8 wt rods, a touch finer than the 0X version. A 50" butt of .022", .021" and .019" mono drives into a 43" middle of .013", then 27" of 1X tippet at .010". It turns over bass bugs and streamers and suits clearer water and more cautious fish.
A 10-foot leader for big bass on 6-8 wt rods. A 50" butt of .022", .021" and .019" mono drives into a 43" middle of .014", then 27" of 0X tippet at .011". It turns over bass bugs and streamers and has the strength to pull a big fish out of cover.
A three-piece streamer leader that steps from 30 lb to 20 lb to 10 lb Trilene Big Game, the 3-2-1 in its name. It runs 10 feet: a 72 inch butt, a 24 inch midsection and a 24 inch tippet, joined with triple surgeon's knots. Stiff, simple and quick to tie, it is built to turn over streamers and stand up to fish that grab hard.
A 13-foot streamer leader for small baitfish patterns on a 6 wt. It runs in three pieces: 22" of .018" butt, a long 111" middle of .012" and 22" of 2X (.009") fluorocarbon tippet. The long middle lets the fly swim and drop away from the fly line, and the 2X tip holds up to hard strips and strikes.
A 9.5-foot streamer leader for largemouth and smallmouth bass on 6-7 wt rods. It steps from a 34 inch .018 inch butt through 29 inches of .014 inch and 34 inches of .012 inch to a 17 inch 0X (.011 inch) tippet. The 0X tip turns over weighted baitfish and crayfish patterns and holds a big bass that runs for cover.
Lefty Kreh's simple 9-foot leader: about half butt, a quarter middle, and the rest a short step and tippet. Here that is 48 inches of .024 mono, 24 inches of .021, 12 inches of .018 and 24 inches of .013 at the fly, joined by three blood knots. Built for a 7-8 wt line, it turns over streamers, bass bugs and light saltwater flies.
