St Croix Imperial

[Sylvaneous]

I had a chance to cast the new Imperial 4 piece 9 foot 5 wt. at Spruce Creek outfitters. For $180, it was a great casting rod. It cast great up close and out to mid ranges with a smooth, clean action. It had the backbone to push out 60 feet of line fairly easily. It is a light rod and well done. I was thoroughly impressed. Only thing is that it had a heavy swing feel in the middle of the rod. It seems like a lot of 4 piece rods feel like they have quarters taped to the middle of the rod. It casts great, though. For $180 and made in America (for the time being) the "feel" that I didn't like so much would probably not be noticed by a lot of people. For a trout rod, this a great fishing rod. It is smooth and easy casting, not floppy at all. It should easily handle any reasonable trout castin distance. You will not be undergunned or outmatched fishing with this rod. Amazing the rods companies can make now for $200! At least St. Croix can.

 

[LigonierA1]

Syl,
I couldn't agree more.

I'm a rod junkie, cast everything I can. My DINK days of unlimited fly fishing budget have come and gone. I've been unloading my high end sticks, pocketing some $ and replacing them with lower cost alternatives. Hard to find a bad rod these days but I've been trying to see who offers the best rods for the least money. If you want to buy 'murican, it's St Croix. And this Imperial line is a sweet spot....