River & RidgeOutdoors
River Intelligence / Rigging

Upper Au Sable River Intelligence

Rigging

Connect the line, leader, tippet, and selected fly, then build the rig shown by the box.

The connection

Four parts carry the fly from your reel to the river.

Fly lineThe thicker line you cast.
LeaderThe tapered clear connection.
TippetThe thin final section tied to the fly.
FlyThe selected pattern from the box.
New to these parts? Begin with a single-fly rig at home. The approved visuals below show where the fly fishes. The learning page explains the parts and core knots; the matching box card supplies the field build and presentation cue. Open rigging basics.

Approved rig visuals

See where the fly belongs in the water.

These are the exact approved River & Ridge cards. They are shown unchanged.

Approved Dry Fly Rig card showing a dry fly riding on the water surface
Dry Fly RigSurface: the fly floats on top of the water.Open dry-fly training →
Approved Film and Emerger Rig card showing an emerger in or just below the surface film
Film / Emerger RigSurface film: the fly fishes in or just below the top layer.Open film and emerger training →

Match the rig to the section

Build the rig shown for the fly you selected.

Surface

Single dry fly

Begin with the dry-fly rig shown for the selected fly. The first skills are approach, line control, and recognizing drag—when the current pulls the fly unnaturally.

Film

Emerger or soft hackle

Use the matching film rig to hold the fly in or just below the surface. A dry-dropper is used only when the specific fly and situation support it.

Subsurface

Nymph, wet fly, or streamer

Follow the Subsurface card to the correct rig. This section may use depth control, a soft-hackle presentation, or an active streamer approach.

Build before you cast

Use the same short check for every rig.

  1. Confirm the box section and fly.Surface, Film, or Subsurface should match the clue you observed.
  2. Gather only the listed materials.Use the leader, tippet, indicator, weight, or dropper material shown on the matching rig card.
  3. Tie the shown knots.Check each connection with a firm pull before fishing.
  4. Check fly orientation and spacing.The rig card shows where each component belongs.
  5. Begin with the shown presentation.Make several comparable attempts before following the adjustment path.

Nymphing only

Use the locked nymph adjustment order after the rig is fishing.

Presentation→Depth→Weight→Change FlyRepeat the same lane.

This sequence belongs to the nymph path. Dry flies, film presentations, and streamers use their own adjustment paths on the next page. See where a nymph fishes in the water column.

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