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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97 to 120 of 134 rigs
A 9-foot wet fly leader that steps down from a .019 inch butt in seven sections to 18 inches of 5X (.006 inch) tippet. The even taper turns over soft hackles and small traditional wet flies on 3-5 wt rods and lets them swing and drift with life in the current.
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.
A 10-foot floating leader that tapers from .023" butt to .010" 1X tip, built for swinging and stripping flies to steelhead in rivers. The gradual seven-section taper loads the rod smoothly and turns over both heavy and light flies with precision. This is a workhorse setup for techniques that depend on line control and delicate presentation. There's also a 0X variation; see the questions below.
A 10' 5" nymphing leader built on the 60/20/20 idea: a long, stiff butt, a short taper and a fine tip. About 60 percent is butt, 49" of 30 lb and 25" of 20 lb Maxima Chameleon, 74" in all. About 20 percent is the taper, 12" each of .015" and .010" Maxima Ultragreen, 24" in all. The last 20 percent or so is the tip, 12" of 2X at .009" and 15" of 4X at .007", 27" in all. It turns over a single tungsten bead nymph and keeps contact with it in the drift.
An 8-foot leader built on a smooth, gradual taper from .018" butt to .006" tip. It's designed for light-touch presentations to panfish in still water, where a gentle cast and a forgiving taper help you land small flies without breaking off. There's also a 4X variation; see the questions below.
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.
A 10-foot bonefish leader for 7-9 weight rods. A 60" butt of .020" mono drops quickly through .018", .014" and .012" to a 24" tip of 1X at .010". The long butt drives a weighted flats fly into the wind, and the 1X tip is light enough for clear water and strong enough to hold a running bonefish.
A 6-foot (72 inch) tapered dry fly leader for brushy small streams where casts are short and branches are close. It steps from a 30 inch .017 butt to .013, .011 and .009, then 14 inches of 4X tippet at .007. The stout butt and short length turn over a dry fly on tight casts and keep the leader out of the trees.
A 7.5-foot (90 inch) tapered dry fly leader for small streams. It steps evenly from a 36 inch .017 butt through .015, .013, .011 and .009 to 14 inches of 4X tippet at .007. It is short enough to control under branches and fine enough at the tip to float a small dry naturally.
A 7.5-foot, 5X leader built on a smooth taper from .017" butt to .006" tip. It's designed to turn over small, light flies cleanly and land panfish without excess splash or disturbance. The formula suits 3 to 5 weight rods and works well where stealth and delicate presentation matter.
An 11.5-foot mono leader for dead-drifting flies to salmon and sea trout in rivers. It tapers in eight even steps from 35 inches of .021" down through .019", .017", .015", .013", 0X, .011" and 1X, .010" to a 27 inch tippet of 2X, .009". The long, gradual taper lands a fly softly and lets it drift at the current's speed, the way fish see natural food in low, clear water.
A 26-foot mono nymphing leader for big trout in runs and pockets, fished tight-line with no indicator. A long .014" butt steps through .012" to a 1X sighter, then 36" of 3X fluorocarbon to a tungsten jig stonefly. The heavy fly does the sinking and the sighter shows the take, so the drift stays direct from rod tip to fly.
A 12-foot tapered monofilament leader built to turn over streamer flies smoothly and deliver them with precision on the flats. It steps down through six sections from 30 lb butt to a 17 lb fluorocarbon tip, giving you the power to cast distance while maintaining delicate presentation where bones are feeding.
A straightforward 8 foot 5 inch streamer leader for 4-7 wt rods. It tapers from a .021 inch butt through four 15 inch sections, then 9 inches of .013 inch and 8 inches of 0X, to 24 inches of 2X tippet. The stout tip turns over buggers, sculpins and baitfish patterns and stands up to hard strips and strip-sets on trout.
A simple 25-foot euro nymphing leader: 211" of level .012" mono, a 42" 1X (.010") sighter and 42" of 5X (.006") fluorocarbon tippet. The thin level butt sags less than a heavy taper, so the line stays straight to a size 16 tungsten-bead nymph and small takes show on the sighter.
A 10.5-foot swing leader for salmon and steelhead on 8-10 wt rods. A 38" butt of .022" mono steps through four 13" pieces at .018", .016", .014" and .013" to a 36" tippet of .012". The stiff butt and even steps turn a swung fly over on a floating line.
Ray Bergman's 12 foot leader for nymphs and wet flies. Eight 18 inch sections of mono step down from .021" at the butt to .006" (5X) at the tip, joined with blood knots in the butt and triple surgeon's knots through the 0X, 3X and 5X pieces. It is built for one fly on a 4 to 7 weight rod. There is also a 6X variation; see the questions below.
A 15-foot dry fly leader with a long, heavy butt: 84" of .017", 12" of .012", 36" of 2X, 36" of 4X and 12" of 5X. The stout butt carries the cast and turns over larger dries in wind, while the long finer sections still let the fly land softly. It is built for 3-5 wt rods on bigger water. There's also a 6X variation; see the questions below.
A 9-foot-4-inch (112 inch) tapered steelhead leader for 8 to 10-weight rods and floating lines, built to turn over weighted streamers and swung flies. Seven Maxima sections step from a 28 inch, 40 lb (.024") butt through short middle pieces to 30 inches of 10 lb (.012") Maxima Ultragreen tippet, joined with blood knots and a triple surgeon's knot. It is a workhorse for swinging and stripping streamers in steelhead runs.
An 8-foot-8-inch dry-fly leader tapered from 30 lb butt to 2X tippet, built to turn over grasshopper imitations and other larger terrestrial patterns. The stout butt handles the weight and air resistance of bigger flies while the fine 2X tip provides the delicacy needed for drag-free presentation on selective trout.
A 9' 10" tapered dry fly leader for trout on a 5-6 wt rod. It runs from a stiff .022" butt of Maxima Clear down through four more Maxima steps, then RIO Powerflex at .010" and .008" to a 24" tip of 4X at .007". The even taper turns over dry flies from #12 to #16 and lays the long tippet down with a little slack for a natural drift.
An 11.5-foot heavy mono leader for swinging big flies to salmon on a 9-11 wt. A 55 inch butt of .024" steps down through 37 inches of .020" and 28 inches of .018" to an 18 inch tip of .016", joined with blood knots. The heavy butt turns over large tube flies and weighted salmon flies, and the stout tip holds a big fish in strong current.
A 15-foot tapered dry-fly leader built to turn over gracefully and land softly on the water. The long taper and gradual step-downs from .017" butt to .006" tip make it well-suited for 3-5 weight rods, working especially well with smaller dry flies where a delicate presentation matters. There's also a 6X variation; see the questions below.
A 12-foot mono leader for fishing wet flies on lakes with a floating line. It tapers in .002" steps from a 36 inch butt of .021" through nine sections to a 27 inch tippet of 5X, .006". The long, fine taper lands a small wet fly or soft hackle without a splash on calm water and lets it sink and hang the way trout see natural insects.
