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.
15 rigs
A 4-foot winter steelhead leader for sink tips, all in Maxima Ultra Green: 20" of 30 lb (.022"), 10" of 20 lb (.017") and 18" of 12 lb (.013"), joined with triple surgeon's knots. Short and stout, it turns over big weighted winter flies and keeps them near the depth of the tip.
A 5.5-foot steelhead leader with a heavy point: 28" of .026" mono joined with a double uni knot to 38" of .017" mono. Built for sink tips and Skagit heads on 7-9 wt rods, it keeps the fly near the depth of the tip and the thick point shrugs off rocks, wood and hard takes.
A 5.5-foot steelhead leader with a heavy point: 28" of .026" mono joined with a double uni knot to 38" of .016" mono. Built for sink tips and Skagit heads on 7-9 wt rods, it keeps the fly near the depth of the tip and the thick point shrugs off rocks, wood and hard takes.
A 4-foot steelhead leader for sink tips and Skagit heads: 12" of 20 lb Ande joined loop to loop with 36" of 10 lb Maxima Ultra Green. The short, stout build keeps the fly at the depth of the tip, and the loop join makes changing a frayed point quick on the river.
A 4-foot steelhead leader for sink tips: 12" of 15 lb Maxima joined with a triple surgeon's knot to 36" of 10 lb Maxima. It is short and stout so the sink tip sets the depth and the fly stays down in the swing.
A 13.5-foot swing leader for a 9-11 wt two-handed rod, built on the 60-20-20 formula. It runs 97" of .018" butt, 32" of .014" and 32" of 0X (.011") tippet, so the butt carries the cast and the tip lays the fly out straight. It suits a floating line and a swung streamer in clear or low water.
Trey Combs' 10-foot steelhead leader for a floating line. It starts with a 72-inch .020" mono butt, then three 12-inch steps of .017", .015" and .013", and ends in 12 inches of 1X (.010") tippet. The heavy butt and short, quick steps turn over swung flies on 5 to 8 weight rods.
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.
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 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.
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 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.
Kaufmann's 10-foot steelhead leader for a sink-tip line: 35 inches of .023 mono stepping through .021, .017 and .013 to 30 inches of 1X, .010. Blood knots join the heavy sections and a triple surgeon's knot joins the tippet. The sink tip takes the fly down, and the leader turns over a swung streamer on a 5-8 wt rod. There's also a 0X variation; see the questions below.
A 54-foot tight-line mono rig for fishing weighted streamers and jigs to steelhead and big trout. It runs 564 inches of 20 lb Sunset Amnesia, 18 inches of 15 lb and 18 inches of 12 lb Maxima, a 4 mm heavy tippet ring, a 12 inch Cortland bi-color sighter and 36 inches of 0X fluorocarbon tippet. The thin mono replaces the fly line through the guides, so the fly sinks fast and you stay in direct contact with it.
Ray Bergman's 8 foot steelhead leader, 95 inches in all. Five 19 inch sections of mono step down from .021" at the butt to .011" (0X) at the tip, joined with blood knots and a triple surgeon's knot. It is a short, stout taper that turns over a swung wet fly on a floating line and holds a steelhead in heavy current.
