Close your eyes and visualize the elements of a masterpiece painting. Consider American artist Winslow Homer’s epic nautical work The Herring Net. Your minds-eye can see the stalwart fisherman braving the surf, fearlessly endeavoring to heave in their catch. Emmanuel Leutze’s famous oil-on-canvas Washington Crossing the Delaware is similarly iconic. Picture the unwavering General Washington, chest out and head high, flanked by gutsy oarsmen and minutemen.
Dare us to paint in an element? Stick a St. Croix rod out the stern in The Herring Net and it feels natural. Paint a St. Croix off the port of Washington’s craft and you figure they’re trolling for provisions for what would become the longest winter ever.
Point being, St. Croix is timeless and classic.
Sporting Classics Magazine thinks so, too. The lifestyle driven publication whose tagline reads, “The Heritage, The Romance, The Art of Fishing & Hunting” has selected St. Croix Rod to receive its Award of Excellence; more specifically, the revered tools, Legend Elite® spinning and casting rods.
Sporting Classics 15th annual Awards of Excellence once again salutes the “best of the best”— “those companies and individuals whose products and services are having a significant and long-lasting impact on our sporting lives.”
Nominees for the awards are submitted by senior and contributing editors, then finalized by the Sporting Classics staff. The honorees were chosen for their achievements in defining what a great sporting product should be. “Their engineering, craftsmanship, and innovations have set higher standards than ever before.” 
“Our mantra with the new Legend Elite project was to make the best better,” said VP of Product Management, David Schluter, about the recently improved series. “We talked to our pro staff, diehard angler customers, and spent a lot time at the whiteboard crunching numbers, refining processes and investigating the absolute finest components available,” said Schluter.
“We knew it would be a huge undertaking but one we could really feel good about. Really, it’s like the fishing equivalent of designing that car that will go 100 miles on a gallon of gas,” continues Schluter.
To take on such an ambitious plan, St. Croix engineers used every bit of cutting edge technology, refined building processes and improvements in components to create the new benchmark rod series.
St. Croix’s standards for blank-building excellence stems largely from proprietary technologies and processes like IPC®, TET, FRS, and ART™, all integrated into the creation of the new Legend Elite.
And so, each Legend Elite enters the world as a consistent, perfect blank.
St. Croix’s exclusive Integrated Poly Curve® (IPC®) tooling technology and their new Taper Enhancement Technology (TET) provide unique, computer designed-and-cut patterns for improved actions and increased sensitivity. They’re built with high-modulus/high-strain SCV graphite with carbon-matte scrim and reinforced with super high-modulus SCVI graphite for added power and reduced weight.
Both graphite materials utilize St. Croix’s Fortified Resin System (FRS), which combines a fortified super resin with computer operated curing ovens that provide improved temperature and time management through all stages of the blank curing cycle. Blanks manufactured with FRS are up to 33% stronger than those built with standard resins and curing methods. They are further enhanced with Advanced Reinforcing Technology™ (ART™) at strategic locations along each blank for added strength with virtually no additional weight. Two-piece models feature ART-reinforced slim-profile ferrules with exceptional strength.
Legend Elite’s new, advanced components include Fuji® Torzite® guides with solid-titanium frames for unrivalled, 100% corrosion-proof performance. It’s worth noting that Torzite is the first ceramic created specifically for fishing rod guides, and it is stronger, lighter and five times smoother than Fuji SiC, the industry’s previous gold standard.
New Legend Elite spinning rods also feature Fuji® TVS blank-touch reel seats with built-in hood, and casting rods feature Fuji® PTS blank-touch reel seats with built-in hood. Musky rods sport Fuji® PLS-LD palming reel seats with shiny grey hood for greater ergonomic and aesthetic appeal.
All models include anodized, machined-aluminum wind checks, super-grade cork handles (split-grip handles on musky models) and exclusive Kigan titanium hook-keepers. Thread wraps are protected by two coats of Flex Coat slow-cure finish.
“We’ve all been completely blown away by the end result of the new Legend Elite project. It’s the culmination of a lot of hard work. The rods have a very airy quality and practically float in the hand. Our pro staff is really excited and we think our customers will be, too,” said Jeff Schluter, VP Brand Management.
The new Legend Elites are designed and handcrafted in Park Falls, Wisconsin, come with a protective rod sack and a 15-year transferable warranty backed by St. Croix Superstar Service. They retail from $370 – $550.
About St. Croix Rod
St. Croix Rod is a family-owned and managed manufacturer of high-performance fishing rods headquartered in Park Falls, Wisconsin with a 65-year heritage of USA manufacturing. Utilizing proprietary technologies, St. Croix controls every step of the rod-making process, from conception and design to manufacturing and inspection, in two company-owned facilities. The company offers a complete line of premium, American-made fly, spinning and casting rods under their Legend Elite,® Legend® Xtreme, Legend Tournament,® Avid Series,® Premier,® Wild River,® Tidemaster,® Imperial® and other trademarks through a global distribution network of full-service fishing tackle dealers. The company’s mid-priced Triumph,® Mojo Bass/Musky/Inshore/Surf, Eyecon® and Rio Santo series rods are designed and engineered in Park Falls, Wisconsin and built in a new, state-of-the-art manufacturing.
About Sporting Classics
Sporting Classics was established in 1981 and today is THE magazine for discovering the best in hunting and fishing worldwide. Every page is carefully crafted, through word and picture, to transport you on an unforgettable journey into the great outdoors.
Travel to the best hunting and fishing destinations. Relive the finest outdoor stories from yesteryear. Discover classic firearms and fishing tackle by the most renowned craftsmen. Gain valuable knowledge from columns written by top experts in their fields: gundogs, shotguns, fly fishing, rifles, sporting art and more.
From great fiction to modern-day adventures, every article is complemented by exciting photography and masterful paintings. This isn’t just another “how to” outdoor magazine.