St. Croix’s Imperial series took the Fly Fishing Rod category at the ICAST 2026 New Product Showcase, held July 15-17 in Orlando. It’s the ninth generation of an all-water fly rod platform St. Croix has produced for more than 60 years. At the same show, the Park Falls, Wisconsin, company also took Freshwater Rod with its redesigned Triumph series, one of the few brands to leave the 2026 Showcase with wins in multiple rod categories.
The new Imperial spans seven models from 3-weight through 8-weight, all 4-piece and fast action, at a $395 retail. The freshwater lineup runs from a 7-foot 9-inch 3-weight up through 9-foot models in 5- through 8-weight, with two 4-weight options at 8-foot 6-inch and 9-foot. A companion Imperial Salt series covers 8-weight through 12-weight in five 9-foot models at $450, per St. Croix’s release. Both series continue to be engineered and built tip-to-butt in Park Falls with a 15-year transferable warranty.
Blank construction stays with St. Croix’s SCIV high-modulus carbon matrix and its four proprietary technologies: IPC mandrel tooling, the Fortified Resin System, Taper Enhancement Technology, and the Slim-Profile Ferrule design. The company says tapers and layups have been refined for smoother loading and improved responsiveness in hand, and that its FRS resin-and-cure process yields blanks 33% stronger than those built with standard methods.
Hardware sees the more visible changes. All seven freshwater models get upgraded Fuji K Series CC Gunmetal stripping guides with aluminum-oxide rings, upgraded hard chrome snake guides, and machined-aluminum uplocking reel seats. The 3- through 6-weight models get a new micro full wells cork grip. The 7- and 8-weight rods carry a full wells grip with fighting butt.
At $395 retail, the freshwater Imperial sits between budget graphite and the four-figure flagship tier. ICAST also reduced the number of fly-specific categories this year, folding Fly Rod and Reel Combo into the general Rod and Reel Combo slot and eliminating Fly Fishing Waders and Wading Boots as standalone categories.
Rods are available at authorized St. Croix specialty fly retailers and at stcroixfly.com beginning December 2026.
