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.
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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.
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21 to 40 of 51 rigs
Gary Borger's 9-foot leader for bouncing a nymph along the bottom: 45" of .020" butt, 17" of .013", and a long 45" tippet of 0X (.011"). Two No. 4 split shot ride 10" above a size 8 stonefly nymph, and a small yarn indicator on the butt shows the take. The stout tippet holds up to the shot, snags and big fish on 4-7 wt rods.
Gary Borger's 7.5-foot leader for flies you move, finished in 3X: 51" of .020" butt, 13" of .013", and 26" of 3X (.008") tippet. The short, stout design keeps the line straight to the fly, so stripped and swung wet flies and nymphs stay under control and takes are felt. It casts well on 4-7 wt rods.
Gary Borger's 7.5-foot leader for flies you move: 51" of .020" butt, 13" of .013", and 26" of 2X (.009") tippet. The short, stout design keeps the line straight to the fly, so stripped and swung wet flies and nymphs stay under control and takes are felt. It casts well on 4-7 wt rods and turns over weighted flies.
Gary Borger's 10-foot dead-drift nymph leader, finished in 5X. It runs 51" of .020" butt, 13" of .013", 51" of 2X (.009") and a 6" tip of 5X (.006"), for 10' 1" in all. The long level 2X section lets a weighted nymph sink freely, and the finer tip suits small nymphs in clear, slow water on a 3-6 wt rod.
Gary Borger's 10-foot dead-drift nymph leader, finished in 4X. It runs 51" of .020" butt, 13" of .013", 51" of 2X (.009") and a 6" tip of 4X (.007"), for 10' 1" in all. The long level 2X section lets a weighted nymph sink freely instead of being pulled up by a taper, and the heavy butt still turns it over on a 3-6 wt rod.
A 9 foot 6 inch carp leader for an 8 weight rod. It runs 48 inches of 30 lb Maxima Clear, then 24 inches of 20 lb, 12 inches of 15 lb and 6 inches of 12 lb Maxima Clear, ending in 24 inches of 0X fluorocarbon. The heavy butt turns over a weighted carp fly in wind, and the stout tip holds big fish around weeds and snags.
A 9 foot 6 inch carp leader for a 6 weight rod. It runs 48 inches of 20 lb Maxima Clear, then 24 inches of 15 lb, 12 inches of 12 lb and 6 inches of 8 lb (1X) Maxima Clear, ending in 24 inches of 2X fluorocarbon. The long, stout taper turns over a weighted carp fly and lays it down far enough from the fish to keep it calm.
A tight-line mono rig for small streams with a long, three-color sighter. It runs 480 inches of 20 lb Maxima Chameleon as the casting line, a 24 inch step of 12 lb Maxima Clear, then 12 inches of neon red Suffix and 12 inches of neon green Amnesia, a 4 mm tippet ring, and 12 inches of Cortland bi-color. A 2 mm tippet ring below the bi-color holds 36 inches of 5X fluorocarbon to a tungsten jig nymph.
A mono rig for small streams that fishes nymphs tight-line and small streamers on one leader. It runs 480 inches of 20 lb Maxima Chameleon as the casting line, a 24 inch step of 12 lb Maxima Clear, then a two-color sighter of 12 inches of neon red Suffix and 12 inches of neon green Amnesia. A 2 mm tippet ring below the sighter holds 36 inches of 4X fluorocarbon to a tungsten jig nymph.
A 32-foot tight-line nymphing leader for 3-5 wt rods. It runs 288" of 20 lb Maxima Chameleon at .017", steps through Maxima HV and Sunset Amnesia at .013" and Seaguar Gold Label at .011", then a 1X sighter and 36" of 4X fluorocarbon to a tungsten bead perdigon. The thin butt hangs off the rod tip without sag, so the drift stays direct from rod to fly.
A 15.5-foot stillwater indicator rig for hanging a small chironomid near the bottom of a clear lake. An 18" butt of 20 lb Seaguar Blue Label leads into 120" of 10 lb (2X, .009") Blue Label, a #12 barrel swivel and 48" of 5X (.006") fluorocarbon to a size 16 tungsten-bead chironomid. A 7/8" release indicator rides near the top, and a No. 4 split shot sits just above the swivel.
A 15.5-foot stillwater indicator rig for hanging a chironomid near the bottom of a lake. An 18" butt of 20 lb Seaguar Blue Label leads into 120" of 10 lb (2X, .009") Blue Label, a #12 barrel swivel and 48" of 4X (.007") fluorocarbon to a size 14 tungsten-bead chironomid. A 7/8" release indicator rides near the top, and a No. 4 split shot sits just above the swivel.
A 10' 2" tapered trout leader that does a bit of everything on a 5-6 wt rod. A 48" butt of .022" Maxima Chameleon steps through .017", .015", .010" and .009" to a 14" tip of 4X at .007". It turns over a dry fly, a small nymph or a light streamer without a change of leader.
A long mono rig for tight-line euro nymphing. A 144" butt of 20 lb Maxima Chameleon (.017") is blood-knotted to a 36" Sunset Amnesia sighter (12 lb), then an 18" transition of 12 lb Cortland mono (.013"). That runs to a 2 mm tippet ring, then 48" of 5X fluorocarbon (.006") to a #16 tungsten bead Perdigon. The thin mono butt lets you hold the line off the water and watch the sighter for strikes, and the weighted fly gets itself down without shot or an indicator.
A simple indicator nymphing leader, 12' 11" long, for a 5-6 wt line. It starts with a 22" butt of .012" mono and 79" of 0X mono, then steps down through 20" of 3X fluorocarbon to 22" of 5X fluorocarbon. Below that is a 2 mm tippet ring and a final 12" of 5X to the fly. A 1/2" trapped-air indicator rides on the 0X, and a BB split shot sits just above the ring to get the nymph down.
Pascal Cognard's 18-foot euro nymphing leader: a long, even taper from 18 inches of .018 mono through .016, .014, .012 and 1X to a 20 inch 3X sighter of Cortland bi-color indicator mono, an 8 inch step of 5X and 79 inches of 6X. It turns over a weighted nymph on a 3-5 wt rod and keeps the fly in direct contact, with no indicator and no split shot. There's also a 7X variation; see the questions below.
An 18' 6" leader for fishing a single fly on a floating line in stillwater. It starts with a 30" butt of .017" and 28" of .013", then steps down through 1X, 2X, 3X and 4X sections to 82" of 5X (.006") tippet. The heavier butt carries the cast off a 4-6 wt line, and the long fine tip lets small flies land softly and sink naturally in calm water.
A 13.5-foot euro nymphing leader that loops to the fly line. It steps down evenly through 42" each of .016", .014" and .012" mono into an 18" 3X (.008") sighter and 18" of 5X (.006") tippet. The even taper turns over a weighted nymph softly, and the fine tippet lets a small tungsten fly sink fast.
A 17-foot leader for nymphing under an indicator at short range on a 3-5 wt. It steps down in 29" sections from .018" through .016", .014" and .012" to 1X (.010"), then a 23" 3X (.008") sighter and 40" of 5X (.006") tippet. A 1/2" trapped-air indicator rides on the 1X section, and a No. 4 split shot sits 10" above a size 16 bead-head nymph.
A 13-foot euro nymphing leader that loops to the fly line and fishes small, weighted nymphs on a tight line. It runs from 74" of .016" butt into 33" of .014" Sufix Elite, a 12" .011" transition, a 16" 3X (.008") sighter and 22" of 5X (.006") tippet. The fine tippet lets a size 16 tungsten nymph sink fast and drift naturally.
