FisheWear Wins Best Women’s Apparel Award at ICAST 2026
|
|
Time to read 6 min
ICAST 2026 • New Product Showcase
A Win Years in the Making: Fishe at ICAST 2026
Linda Leary is standing beneath the blue-green lights of the Orange County Convention Center with both hands wrapped around a glass award. Across the front are the words that made this an unforgettable week for Fishe: Best Women’s Technical Apparel.
At the 2026 ICAST New Product Showcase, the Brookie 1/4 Zip Thermal was selected as the strongest new product in its category. For an Alaska-born company created because women deserved better fishing apparel, the honor is bigger than one garment.
Quick Takeaways
- FisheWear won Best Women’s Technical Apparel at ICAST 2026.
- The winning product was the Brookie 1/4 Zip Thermal.
- Credentialed fishing-industry buyers and editorial media vote on showcase entries.
- More than 870 products entered the 2026 New Product Showcase.
- The award marks a major milestone in Fishe’s women-first approach to technical fishing apparel.
In This Story
Why You Should Trust This Article
The award, category and winning product were verified through the official ICAST winner listing. Attendance, exhibitor and showcase figures come from the American Sportfishing Association’s ICAST 2026 recap.
The historical timeline is grounded in ICAST and industry archives, while women’s participation figures come from the 2026 Special Report on Fishing. No unverified product availability or launch claims have been added.
What Fishe Won at ICAST 2026
The International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades—better known as ICAST—held its 2026 show July 14–17 in Orlando, Florida. Inside its New Product Showcase, the Brookie 1/4 Zip Thermal was named the Best of Category winner for Women’s Technical Apparel.
This was not a social-media popularity contest or an award selected by exhibitors. ICAST gives credentialed buyers and editorial media exclusive voting rights in the New Product Showcase.
A category win, not the overall Best of Show
ICAST names winners across more than 35 product categories, then holds a separate vote to choose one overall Best of Show product. Fishe’s achievement is therefore best described precisely: the Brookie 1/4 Zip Thermal won Best Women’s Technical Apparel at ICAST 2026.
Why the Brookie Thermal Stood Out
ICAST’s winning entry describes the Brookie 1/4 Zip Thermal as a cold-weather layer made from breathable brushed jersey. The fabric is designed to retain warmth without giving up comfort, while the stand collar helps protect the neck from wind.
A front zipper helps regulate temperature as conditions change. Flat seams are intended to reduce chafing, and the piece is designed to work as part of a layering system.
Good technical apparel disappears into the experience. It lets an angler stay focused on the next cast, the next run and the weather coming over the horizon.
Why Brookie is unmistakably Fishe
Brook trout already look like living artwork: dark marbling across the back, warm flanks, bright lower fins and red spots surrounded by blue halos. Turning that natural detail into expressive fishing apparel is where Fishe’s point of view becomes distinctive.
The award did not ask the brand to choose between function and identity. It recognized a product that brought both into the same design.
What Is ICAST?
ICAST stands for the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades. Presented by the American Sportfishing Association, it is the world’s largest sportfishing trade show and one of the most important annual business gatherings in recreational fishing.
It is not a public consumer expo. The show is built for manufacturers, retailers, buyers, wholesalers, media, conservation groups, professional anglers and organizations working across the fishing industry.
That trade-only structure gives the New Product Showcase its influence. Products are considered by the people who may stock them, distribute them, write about them or introduce them to a broader market.
The History of ICAST
Today’s show fills more than 200,000 square feet, but its story began in a Chicago hotel. The first fishing-tackle trade show was held July 27–30, 1958, at the Hotel Sherman. It included 136 exhibitors and approximately 2,500 attendees.
The name ICAST arrived in 1977. Over the following decades, the event grew into the sportfishing industry’s central annual marketplace. Fly-fishing’s IFTD show later co-located with ICAST for several years, bringing those communities together before the events separated again.
In 2020, the pandemic forced ICAST online. The in-person show returned in 2021. By 2026, the gathering drew nearly 12,000 attendees, more than 540 exhibitors and over 870 New Product Showcase entries.
From a First Booth to a Category Win
Fishe’s relationship with ICAST did not begin with a trophy. The company exhibited at the combined ICAST and IFTD event in Orlando in 2017, only a few years after Linda Leary began building the brand in Alaska.
That first appearance introduced more of the fishing industry to Fishe’s conviction that women should not have to choose between technical function, fit and expressive design. Outdoor media noticed the brand as one of the show’s discoveries.
Nine years later, Linda returned to Orlando and accepted a category award for a product built around that same conviction. The 2026 win is a milestone, but it is also a continuation.
Why This Win Matters for Women in Fishing
Women are not a niche audience waiting to be discovered. The 2026 Special Report on Fishing found that 21.1 million women fished in the United States in 2025. Women represented 37 percent of all anglers, 41 percent of first-time participants and 43 percent of people considering fishing.
Those anglers fish from drift boats, skiffs, beaches, riverbanks, ice, kayaks and remote backcountry water. They need apparel designed for those realities.
An ICAST category devoted to women’s technical apparel sends a message throughout the industry. Winning it sends another: women-first design can lead on performance, not simply participate.
Recognition for the problem Fishe set out to solve
Fishe was created because women deserved more than smaller versions of men’s gear or superficial color changes added after the technical work was finished. The Brookie Thermal award validates a process that starts with women’s movement, comfort and time outdoors, then lets color and artwork strengthen the product’s identity.
Conclusion
ICAST began in 1958 as a gathering of 136 exhibitors inside a Chicago hotel. Nearly seven decades later, it has become the global meeting place where the fishing industry decides which new products deserve attention.
In 2026, one of those products came from Fishe. The Brookie 1/4 Zip Thermal won Best Women’s Technical Apparel, placing an Alaska-born, women-first company at the top of its category.
Fishe came to ICAST to help change what women’s fishing apparel could be. In 2026, the industry handed that idea a trophy.
Frequently Asked Questions
What award did FisheWear win at ICAST 2026?
FisheWear won the 2026 ICAST New Product Showcase award for Best Women’s Technical Apparel.
Which Fishe product won the award?
The winning product was the Brookie 1/4 Zip Thermal.
Was this the overall ICAST Best of Show award?
No. Fishe won the Best of Category award for Women’s Technical Apparel. ICAST holds a separate vote among category winners to select one overall Best of Show product.
Who votes for ICAST New Product Showcase winners?
Credentialed fishing-industry buyers and editorial media vote on the entries. Exhibitors do not select the winners.
What does ICAST stand for?
ICAST stands for the International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades.
Is ICAST open to the public?
ICAST is a trade-based event rather than a general consumer show.
Where and when was ICAST 2026 held?
ICAST 2026 was held July 14–17 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
How many products entered the 2026 New Product Showcase?
More than 870 products were entered across over 35 categories.
Had Fishe attended ICAST before this win?
Yes. Fishe exhibited at the combined ICAST and IFTD event in Orlando in 2017.
Why is the award important for women’s fishing apparel?
It recognizes women’s technical apparel as a serious area of product innovation and validates Fishe’s belief that performance, women-first fit and expressive design belong together.
Sources
Related Reading
Huntress View Names Fishe an ICAST Favorite
Return to Fishe’s first ICAST chapter and the attention that introduced the brand beyond Alaska.
Women in Fishing: What the 2026 Report Reveals
Explore the newest participation data and women’s growing influence across recreational fishing.
Angelica Talan on Cast & Connect
Meet another woman building connection, visibility and opportunity throughout the outdoor industry.
