One of my fishing buddies is looking for a light action rod in the light action class. Not ultralight because he wants to use it for light drop shotting, small senkos, and extreme finesse presentations like they do in japan. Putting a 1000 size stardic on it with 15lb daiwa samurai braid. any suggestions on any brands?

St Croix Avid would make a great match with a 1000 size Stradic. Just one suggestion, maybe try using lighter braid, it would make casting a bit easier.

Yep, avid would be a real good choice

The daiwa samurai braid is actually thinner than the 8lb power pro actually. I have the 15lb on my 1000 stradic so that is what i told him to use.

I have the st croix eyecon in the 7 ft light model and its a nice rod for the money.

I had a 6'6 shimano clarus lifght action rod and it was excellent. Threadless cork handle and a really nice tip that transitioned into a surprising back bone. I caught a lot of nice fish on that rod; now I'm sad I sold it lol. They make a 6'0 I found via a google search.

I have a St. Croix Avid that I love that would fit the bill of what your friend is looking for.  It is not as sensitive for super finesse presentations as I would like but it gets the job done.

I use a 6' L Clarus and love it. You can find them at deep discount because they've been discontinued.