Suggestions for a new light tackle rod?

Hi all

I have had the same sea rod - a 13ft 3-piece Loomis & Franklin F2534-49 for at least the last 12 years and it has served me brilliantly from day 1 until I dropped it on the light action tip last week.

What suggestions do you guys have for a replacement stick for me?

I want to use my SL30 - not really interested in a grinder.
It cannot be a 1 piece - not suitable for my travel situation.
I really want a rod that bends nicely when you're on with a fish - not a broomstick.

My style of fishing is 90% for bronze bream and similar reef species.

Budget - under 2.5k - preferably under 2k...

Will say that I have been scouring the internet for a replacement - but haven't been able to definitely say "that's the one"

Daiwa Saltist 12ft 6 - 3 piece.They come in 1-3 ounce and 2-4 ounce.
Assassin Beachmaster lite 2-4ounce.

Thanks Derash...

Will add them on to my list of rods to look for.


Okes are quiet on here hey!


Was wondering if a rod-builder could change an Assassin Bluefish from a grinder to a casting rod - get rid of the bionic finger - beef up/thicken the grip and bring it down over the bionic finger exposed area - maybe change the bottom eye or two?

Howsit Kassie,
I am not a rod builder but from my experience it is possible
to change a grinder rod to a multiplier rod.I converted a few of mine. Firstly i fitted the multiplier on the rod and fed the
line through the guides.Tie the line to something and turn the rod(guides facing sky)as the rod bends ,have a look at line , if it is not touching any part of the blankthen its fine if it is then u going to have line cutting due to burn on line due to friction with line rubbing against the blank of rod.Guides can be re-spaced but that's an expensive route.You may probably want to change the first 2 or 3 guides to smaller sizes.

I did remove bionic finger .Instead of fitting a new eva grip i had the gap of bionic fingercovered up by a binding and high build over it (looks very nice)
Another thing is that on grinder rods the winch(reel seat) is fitted turn up wayswhereas the multiplier rods are turn down ways.If u comfortable either ways on using a multi or a grinder it doesn't matter.
You can use wingripp wrap to thicken the grip if need be.
Thanks , hope that helps , just my 2 cents......
Will try and upload a pic of my rod which i use a multi and a grinder reels on.

Ive got the Assassin Blue Fish 14ft 3 to 4 oz and its a beast of a rod, Ive fished it hard, Light enough to scratch for bronze bream and Gallies and not too light for fishing in the surf, Get some great distance casting and has held up well against some nice sized poensies, steenies and cob, Finding it a great all round light rod

Photo of bionic finger cover up.

Been looking for a buddy in the shops recently, there really is not much available these days in 4-5/4-6oz rated that is longer than a 12foot and shorter than a 14ft, for a multiplier? But also all the grinder rods these days have the reelseat in a multiplier position..Times change hey..But I've been spinning with a 10ft light rod and small multi tied on with heavy gut on the bottom, with the anti tangle setup and its been working 100% the line not touching the blank and rod fights fish just fine upside down and the antitangle setup casts mono off a multiplier amazingly well.

So aside from having to beef up the grip where the bionic finger sits, most of the grinder rods with a thick enough grip should work, if not as derash suggested Winn it thicker, if they are of the right spec? The grinder rods are softer in the tip apparently but in my own casting style the HMG rods with a softer tip cast nicer anyway so?!

Thanks for the input guys.

Derash - that looks mooi!

Well - I decided to take a Loomis & Franklin Shockwave 13ft casting - it's a 24T 2-piece blank rated 2-4oz.

Took it out to the Dale College athletics track field Tuesday afternoon and with a 3 oz I was getting some damned good distances - the tip action looks awesome and if it's a 3 kilo bluefish or a 500g banded galjoen it's gonna look like I'm fighting a dolphin!::rofl:

(Now it seems that I need to get the bearing replaced in my SL30 - it sounds rough when the sinker's in flight!)

I'm just not too sure of the rod's capabilities to cast a shad bait and a 3oz sinker together - I might be pushing the limits^^..

I looked at, felt and really liked the Assassin Sabre 13ft casting model - rated 4 to 6 oz and a 3 piece.

Neel from Bilimoria Vincent suggested that the hardware on this stick isn't quality and that they've experienced the reel seat threads stripping.

It's plain to see that it's not a Fuji winch and it has stainless steel eyes.

Any comments on this

Change the spool shaft bushing to bearing. It's a simple and quick change over.