26 rigs, each with a diagram, a parts list, tying steps and how to fish it. Filter by category or scroll.
The weedless soft-plastic rig every bass angler learns first. A bullet weight slides on the line above a hook buried in the plastic, so it slips through weeds and wood without hanging up.
A heavy sliding weight, a bead, a swivel and a long leader let a soft plastic drift naturally behind the weight. Perfect for covering deep points, flats and rock piles.
The weight goes on the bottom and the hook is tied above it, so the bait hovers off the bottom right where suspended fish feed. The number one finesse rig for smallmouth in Ontario and Quebec.
A stick bait hooked through the middle so both ends flutter as it sinks. The simplest rig on this site and one of the best for pressured, shallow bass.
A short, buoyant plastic on a light mushroom-shaped jighead that stands up on bottom. The rig that made "do nothing" finesse fishing famous — and a smallmouth killer in Canadian rivers and lakes.
A finesse worm Texas-rigged on a stand-up jighead. Shake the rod tip and the worm dances upright on the bottom. The go-to when bass are pressured or the bite is slow.
A hook, a solid ring and a short wire dropper with the weight on it. The bait sits a few inches above the weight and flutters in place — a Texas rig with a drop-shot attitude.
A free-sliding weight on a swivel clip, then a hook tied directly to the line. The weight drops first and the plastic glides down behind it on a slack line — a Carolina rig with no leader to tie.
A bobber stop, a bead and a sliding float let you fish live bait at any exact depth and still cast easily. The rig that puts walleye in the boat on rock reefs at dusk.
A clip-on float, a split shot and a baited hook. The rig that catches everyone their first fish off a dock — and still fills a bucket with perch and sunfish.
A lead-head jig with a live minnow hooked through the lips. The rig for spring walleye in the rivers and fall walleye on the reefs, from the Bay of Quinte to the Winnipeg River.
A walking sinker slides on the main line above a swivel and a long leader to a plain hook with a leech, crawler or minnow. Feed line to a biting walleye and it never feels the weight.
A spinner blade, a run of beads and two snelled hooks on a leader, trolled behind a bottom bouncer with a nightcrawler stretched along the hooks. The summer walleye rig on Erie, Simcoe, Nipissing and the prairie reservoirs.
An L-shaped wire with a weight on the long leg and a swivel on the short arm. It walks over rock and gravel almost snag-free while towing a harness, crankbait or live-bait leader.
A three-way swivel splits the line into a short dropper to a sinker and a longer leader to a hook, minnow or floating crankbait. The rig for holding bait in the strike zone in river current.
One or two split shot pinched on the line above a small baited hook. The simplest bottom rig there is and the standard for drifting worms for stream trout.
An egg or no-roll sinker slides on the main line above a swivel, bead and leader. Fish pick up the bait and run without feeling the weight. The universal bottom rig for catfish, carp and stocked trout.
A sinker at the bottom and one or two hooks on dropper loops above it. Two baits at two depths, perfect for perch schools and bottom feeders, and it drops straight down through an ice hole.
A wire leader with two treble hooks spaced to hook a large dead bait at the head and mid-body. Lets you set the hook immediately on a pike instead of waiting for it to swallow the bait.
A snap swivel, a short wire or heavy fluoro leader and a red-and-white spoon. The rig that has caught more Canadian pike than any other, and still the first thing to tie on at a new lake.
The line, leader and hook that go on a tip-up so a live or dead bait hangs at a set depth and a flag pops when a fish takes it. The rig for a day on the ice with a few holes spread across a flat.
A light braid or fluoro main line, a small swivel to kill twist, a short fluoro leader and a jigging spoon, tungsten jig or lipless bait tipped with a minnow head. The active rig for hole-hopping walleye, perch and crappie.
A strike indicator, a tapered leader, split shot and one or two weighted nymphs drifting dead along the bottom. The fly-fishing rig that catches trout 90 percent of the days when nothing is rising.
A buoyant dry fly acts as the indicator with a small nymph hanging 12–30 inches below it. Two chances on every drift — one on top, one underneath.
A fixed float, a shot pattern that tapers down the line, a swivel and a light fluoro leader to a roe bag, bead or jig. The Great Lakes tributary rig fished on a centrepin or long spinning rod.
A crankbait or stickbait tied to a short fluorocarbon leader and a small snap, trolled behind the boat with no added weight. The easiest way to find fish in a new lake.