problems panel
✕ Swivel rated 35 lb under 40 lb mainline
Any rig fails at its lowest-rated component. The engine knows both numbers because they are both published specs, so it can tell you the swivel is the fuse before the fish does.
rig studio · v1
Stop guessing at your terminal tackle.
Build the whole rig and watch it work.
Pick what you are chasing and where. Then build it: hook, beads, swivel, weight, leader, mainline, reel, rod, waders, kayak, drone, while a compatibility engine checks every number against every other number and tells you, in plain language, exactly what will fail and why.
- 17build stages
- 101components
- 23species profiles
- 28guides
- 8knot schematics
for people who read the spec sheet
Depth is the feature, not the fine print.
Most fishing sites hand you a ranked list and ask you to trust it. This one shows the working. Every warning cites the two numbers that conflict, the threshold between them, and what to actually do about it. Nothing is hidden behind a recommendation.
no hard blockers
Jump between any of the 17 stages at any time, in any order, with anything unset. The build re-evaluates instantly. There is no wizard, no forced sequence, and nothing gated behind a step you did not want to answer.
the guide finds you
Focus the swivel and the swivel knots appear, animated, step by step. Focus the leader and you get the braid-to-fluoro connection. You never have to know a guide exists to be handed it at the moment it matters. All 8 are also on theknot chart, side by side, every species' hook window is on the hook size chart, and its line and leader windows, with braid converted to mono by diameter, are on the line size chart.
the build graph
Seventeen stages, hook to drone.
The chain runs from what touches the fish all the way out to what carries you there. Each stage is a real catalogue with real specifications, and each one is checked against the rest.
plan, what and where
terminal, the business end
Hookhook.terminalThe only part that actually touches the fish.Beadsbead.terminalKnot armour, spacers, and noise.Swivelswivel.terminalKills line twist. Also your weakest link if you cheap out.Weightweight.terminalGets you down, holds you there, or ruins the presentation.Floatfloat.terminalSuspends the bait and telegraphs the bite.
connection, line and leader
platform, rod, reel, bait
field, you and the trip
Storagestorage.fieldBoxes, sleeves, and the pliers you will absolutely need.Apparelapparel.fieldDressed for the water temperature, not the parking lot.Waderswaders.fieldHow deep you can go and how hard you slip.Vesselvessel.fieldKayak, tube, or hull, matched to the water.Techtech.fieldSonar, cameras, and yes, bait-dropping drones.
Target and Water are planning stages, not purchases: they set the tolerances everything else is measured against.
start from the fish
Every number downstream comes from the target.
Each species profile publishes its working windows (line test, hook size, leader, drag floor) plus a behaviour model for how line-shy and how abrasive it is. Those are the tolerances the engine checks against.
Largemouth Bass
Micropterus salmoides
The default North American gamefish. Lives in cover, eats anything it can fit in its bucket mouth, and will bury you in a laydown given half a second.
8–30 lb#4–5/06 lb drag
Rainbow Trout
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Stocked everywhere, wild in the good places. Soft mouths, sharp eyes, and a hard preference for the lightest presentation you can get away with.
2–8 lb#14–#42 lb drag
Northern Pike
Esox lucius
A mouth full of razors attached to a torpedo. The only fish on this list where skipping the correct leader is not a preference, it is a guarantee of loss.
20–50 lb1/0–7/010 lb drag
Redfish
Sciaenops ocellatus
Shallow, tailing, and hard-charging. Sight-fishing a red in a foot of water is as close as inshore gets to hunting.
15–40 lb2/0–6/010 lb drag
Steelhead
Oncorhynchus mykiss (anadromous)
Cold rivers, long drifts, and light leaders under heavy fish. The most technically demanding build on this list.
8–20 lb#6–3/06 lb drag
Blue Catfish
Ictalurus furcatus
Big-river heavy tackle. A 40 lb blue in current pulls like a moving vehicle and will empty a small reel before you get the boat started.
30–80 lb5/0–10/015 lb drag
worked examples
Load a finished build and take it apart.
Eight complete rigs, from a hundred-and-thirty dollar bluegill setup to an offshore build. Open one in the studio and change anything: the engine re-checks the whole thing live.
The First Rig
Bluegill under a bobber, about $130 all-in
The cheapest build on this site that is not a compromise. A light spinning combo, mono, a #8 hook, a bobber, and split shot. This catches fish on day one and teaches you every fundamental.
Bass: Texas Rig
Heavy cover, braid, and a tungsten bullet
The build that defines modern bass fishing. Braid to a heavy EWG hook, tungsten to feel bottom, a bead to save the knot, and enough rod to pull a fish out of the salad.
Clear-Water Finesse
Smallmouth, light fluoro, everything scaled down
Gin-clear water where line diameter is the whole game. Light fluoro leader, a fine-wire hook, and a soft rod that protects it all under a fish that will not stop pulling.
Pike: Toothproof
Where skipping the wire leader loses the fish
The clearest case in the app for a hard rule. Titanium leader, heavy braid, a big single hook, and pliers you can actually reach.
Surf: Striped Bass
Ten feet of rod, four ounces of pyramid, salt everywhere
Corrosion is the design constraint. Everything metal is salt-rated, the weight is heavy enough to hold in longshore current, and the hook is a circle because the regulations say so.
Steelhead: Float & Jig
A 10-6 noodle rod and a drift float
Light leader under a heavy fish in cold current. The slip float holds depth through the whole drift and the soft rod is the only thing keeping the leader alive.
Inshore: Redfish
Skinny water, long fluoro leader, kayak access
A flats build. Braid to a long fluoro leader for the oyster bars, a jighead with scented plastic, and a kayak stable enough to stand up and sight-fish from.
River Catfish
Three ounces of bank sinker and a 8/0 circle
Heavy current, muddy water, and a fish that is not remotely line-shy. Everything here is about holding bottom and not gut-hooking the fish.
Want the rig for a specific fish and water? The solver has built one for each of75 species-and-venue pairings, every check shown:fishing rigs by species and water. Know the rig you want to tie? TheTexas, Carolina, drop shot, slip bobber and seven more are each solved for every fish they are tied for. Or start from the water: fishing by venue compares all of it on current, depth and clarity.
the reference
Guides written to be read at the vise.
01
gear
02Backing Line vs. Mainline: When to Use Each and How Much You Need
Backing line fills a spool with cheap mono before you spool on braid. Here is when it matters, when to skip it, and how to calculate how much to put on.
updated 2026-10-24knots
03Arbor Knot: How to Tie Line to a Reel Spool
How to tie the arbor knot to attach fishing line to a reel spool, why braid spins on a bare spool, and how to spool up without twist. Four steps, one real gotcha.
updated 2026-10-17knots
04FG Knot: How to Tie the Strongest Braid-to-Leader Connection
How to tie the FG knot step by step: tension, the weave, the locking hitches, and why it slips when it is tied slack. The slimmest braid-to-fluoro or mono leader knot in common use.
updated 2026-10-17knots
05Non-Slip Loop Knot: Free-Swinging Action for Jigs and Lures
How to tie the non-slip loop knot, step by step, and when a loop beats a tight knot. Wrap counts by line test, loop size, and why it belongs on jigs, topwaters, and streamers.
updated 2026-10-17hooks
06Fishing Hook Sizes: #32 to 12/0 Chart Explained
Use this fishing hook size chart to match #32–1 and 1/0–12/0 hooks to bait and target fish. Learn how gap, wire, and brand affect the choice.
updated 2026-09-23getting started
How to Set Up a Fishing Rod: A Complete Beginner's Guide
Learn how to set up a fishing rod the right way: assemble the blank, mount the reel, spool line, thread the guides, and tie on a hook, ready to cast today.
updated 2026-09-05what this is not
The limits, stated plainly.
known limitations
- The engine does not know your local regulations. Circle-hook mandates, felt-sole bans, barbless water and drone restrictions all vary by state and country. Check before you fish.
- Species tolerances are sane working windows, not world-record limits. People land fish outside them every day, usually on purpose and with a reason.
- Prices are rough street-price estimates for budgeting. They are never live Amazon prices and are not updated in real time.
- The simulation is a tuned approximation, not fluid dynamics. It is right about the direction and rough magnitude of a change, not the exact number of inches.
- It cannot know the conditions on the day, or how well you cast. Those are still the two biggest variables.
Found something wrong? Tell us: corrections to the catalogue and the rules are the most useful mail we get.
Open the studio and put something in the water.
No account, no signup. The whole build lives in the URL, copy it and it travels.
Open the Rig Studio