Most of my set ups are specific to a certain bait or two - so this set up I want is for throwing Texas rigged seniors on a baitcaster in the 8.x:x range - I throw them a lot and hate using a 7.x.x  because of reeling it in so often and I want it to be faster....I am not set on any brand, just wanting something under $175'ish - I thought about the Lews SP skipper that is on sale for $175 but don't see me being able to skip a senko with my lack of skill!

Kistler has Chromium reels on Black Friday sale @ 70% off.

 Nice reel at a great price. Put in your cart for discount.

1 hour ago, wordty said:

I thought about the Lews SP skipper that is on sale for $175 but don't see me being able to skip a senko with my lack of skill!

So don't use it for skipping. Lower the brake setting out of the skipping zone and simply cast your worm just as with any other bait caster.

I look at senkos 2 different ways, open water or skipping/pitching.

For long casts in open water, I want a reel with a little bit of capacity.  That way even at the end of a cast the IPT isn't bottomed out.  An 8 speed would be ideal.  

 

A skipping reel doesn't have to have a ton of capacity.  I want to pick up line fairly fast, but torque is important too for pulling those fish out from cover or out of docks before they can wrap you up.

 

The first reel that comes to mind that would do everything well is the Curado 150 M.  I was very impressed with the 200 Ms ergonomics.  I would imagine the 150M would be even better.  Right now they would be a little over $200.

A more budget friendly option would be an 8 speed Tatula 100.  In terms of ergonomics, its outstanding. The 100 has more capacity than a Shimano 150.

The SV 100 and 150 would be good options as well.  They run $220, but you can get them under 200 on sale.  The SV spool would help you a ton with skipping.  

3 hours ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

I look at senkos 2 different ways, open water or skipping/pitching.

For long casts in open water, I want a reel with a little bit of capacity.

The Pro SP holds plenty of line for bomb casting senkos into open water. No problem with 10 to 15lb mono with line to spare. Nobody's chucking a weightless 5" senko much farther than 130' on a good day. Also, with its light spool, it'll be way lighter fully loaded than any 150 and especially 200 sized reel. Possibly 10 grams lighter or more. That's a plus in actual use terms. If the OP wishes to give skipping a shot in the future, he'll have a purpose-built reel for that and one far more suited to the task than any Shimano with a conventionally deep spool and with SVS Infinity braking, IMO.

I bought Lew's SP when it first came out, and soon discovered my mag-brake Super Duty G blew it away by 20% for casting light weights - sold SP.   Centrifugal makes more sense for heavier weights.  Linear mag gets increased distance with lighter weights.  

 

This eventually led me to Daiwa SV, which is the best of both.  

10 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

I bought Lew's SP when it first came out, and soon discovered my mag-brake Super Duty G blew it away by 20% for casting light weights - sold SP.   Centrifugal makes more sense for heavier weights.  Linear mag gets increased distance with lighter weights.  

 

This eventually led me to Daiwa SV, which is the best of both.  

Thanks I have seen this comment of yours as I researched this - very helpful- so when you say "Daiwa SV", is that the Tatula SV?  I am not sure which model you exactly mean - thanks very much.

 

A 5" GY senko plus standard 3/0 hook weighs in at about 10 grams. Not a light bait. With that weight and specific type bait or even a fluke, and a rod proper for it, no reel I have will yield a cast farther than a Tournament Pro LFS. That includes my favorite $400 Zillion G. It can come close, but that isn't the point of the OP's $175 price point question. The Pro SP is just as capable as the TP LFS. I can't say what happens as weights go down significantly as I have other rigs for that duty, and the OP asked about chucking senkos.

 

And the Lew's Pro SP will easily beat the Tat SV in a distance contest with that bait. However, the Tat SV is a better skipping reel, meaning less user input or mindless skipping. You'll need to be sharper with the Lew's.

The new Lew's Speed Spool RX has me intrigued...sadly they seem to have stopped making it in my favorite gear ratio for the left handed models but if you are right handed they have an 8.3 model that seems like it would fit the bill. Pretty sure you would be able to find it on sale right now somewhere too. I still might end up getting one of the 7.5 models at some point but was disappointed to see they stopped offering some of the gear ratios in the left handed models that they used to. 

 

Their new KVD reel is also the same price as that Speed Spool RX. I have the older one and it's a good reel. This one is a step up from the previous gen that I've got since it has the same braking system as that Speed Spool RX and they also offer that one in an 8.3 model.

 

The other one I'd suggest looking at is the SLX XT A from Shimano. That one is well under your budget but a great reel for that price and they have one with an 8.2 gear ratio. The brakes on the Lew's reels are more sophisticated so if you want to learn to skip or try it out then it might be a better choice, but the brakes on the Shimano aren't bad and I'd argue it's the best of the bunch in the price range it's in.

For $175...  SLX 70/71 with money left over for line

1 hour ago, PhishLI said:

A 5" GY senko plus standard 3/0 hook weighs in at about 10 grams. Not a light bait. With that weight and specific type bait or even a fluke, and a rod proper for it, no reel I have will yield a cast farther than a Tournament Pro LFS. That includes my favorite $400 Zillion G. It can come close, but that isn't the point of the OP's $175 price point question. The Pro SP is just as capable as the TP LFS. I can't say what happens as weights go down significantly as I have other rigs for that duty, and the OP asked about chucking senkos.

 

And the Lew's Pro SP will easily beat the Tat SV in a distance contest with that bait. However, the Tat SV is a better skipping reel, meaning less user input or mindless skipping. You'll need to be sharper with the Lew's.

Do you mean the Tatula SV 100?  I am not familiar with all the Daiwa codes, etc.

48 minutes ago, webertime said:

For $175...  SLX 70/71 with money left over for line

Thank you - does this refer to the Shimano SLX 70?  I dont see a 70/71 online

14 minutes ago, wordty said:

Do you mean the Tatula SV 100?  I am not familiar with all the Daiwa codes, etc.

Yes.

15 hours ago, PhishLI said:

The Pro SP holds plenty of line for bomb casting senkos into open water. No problem with 10 to 15lb mono with line to spare. Nobody's chucking a weightless 5" senko much farther than 130' on a good day. Also, with its light spool, it'll be way lighter fully loaded than any 150 and especially 200 sized reel. Possibly 10 grams lighter or more. That's a plus in actual use terms. If the OP wishes to give skipping a shot in the future, he'll have a purpose-built reel for that and one far more suited to the task than any Shimano with a conventionally deep spool and with SVS Infinity braking, IMO.

A senko isnt light.  The bait alone weighs 3/8 + the weight of the hook.  With the right outfit, its not hard to toss one 100' consistently in practical conditions.  

The Curado 150M is 6.7 oz, not a heavy reel at all.  The capacity isnt about running out of line.  It's about retaining decent IPT at the end of cast.  You get a little more torque with the 150 when compared to smaller reels.  Its nice to have when pulling fish out of cover. 

I find the MGLs to be really versatile reels/spools.  They cast light baits really well and have great distance with moderate and heavy weights.  The MGL spools are fairly friendly to skip, at least thats my opinion.  

 

 

You could go buy you one of two or three KastKing reels for less than half the money and be pleasantly surprised.  

 

I'm a long time Lew's fan.  Have a small fortune in Lew's reels of all kinds.  Ordered a couple KK reels with some Amazon points I had accumulated.  $50 or so reels just to see what they were.  Got them free, so what the hay.  Two have made it into my daily tournament rotation.  Dadgum good reels.  Not just good for the price, but GOOD reels.  One was a Brutus.  Cheap, looks like it.  Fishes like a much more expensive reel.  Can't remember the name of the other one, but it is now on my number one jerk bait rod.  It will be on the deck of the Skeeter until May.

 

To the OP:  If your skills are weak, an expensive reel won't make up for it.

28 minutes ago, GetFishorDieTryin said:

A senko isnt light. 

 

3 hours ago, PhishLI said:

A 5" GY senko plus standard 3/0 hook weighs in at about 10 grams. Not a light bait.

I agree. Even said so.

 

4 hours ago, PhishLI said:

 

I agree. Even said so.

 

You didn't say that in the posted quoted to me. 5" are 3/8 without the hook.

I guess you cant cast a senko over 130' so you figure it's impossible?

I'm confident I could break 130' with my Weapon Jr outfit, but I don't use it for FW bass. 

I would bet there are people not just on this site, but on this thread that can probably break 130' with gear they use to bass fish.  

6 hours ago, wordty said:

 

Thank you - does this refer to the Shimano SLX 70?  I dont see a 70/71 online

Yes. The SLX 70 is the right hand model and the 71 is the left handed model.

13 hours ago, wordty said:

Thanks I have seen this comment of yours as I researched this - very helpful- so when you say "Daiwa SV", is that the Tatula SV? 

SV refers to the lighter Daiwa magforce brake rotor, and you can't go wrong with Tatula 100SV for casting light lures and on up to 1 oz.  No casting brake is easier to set up.  

 

Skip-casting is in the rod, especially the rod tip.  I have semi-para ML/L rods that will cast a light lure into next week, but won't skip-cast 20'.  Other, progressive tip rods that will skip a weightless senko like a bullet a foot above the water.  

 

A 3" weightless senko matched with #1 hook is lighter than a loaded 2-g JH.  

Both of these light weights are in BFS territory.  

 

The SLX 70 would be a good choice.  The Tatula TW80 would be another great choice.  

On 11/29/2025 at 8:30 PM, PhishLI said:

Yes.

Thanks very much - would the 150 skip as good as the 100?  Is the only difference reel size and line capacity?

Wider spool and wider reel frame.

Take a look at JDM site like Digitaka, save about 40% on average shipped. Tatula TUSV100XH ( new model) ( 8.1:1) is $170 shipped in 3 days.

Tom

The SLX MGL 70 would be a great reel for casting them weightless or if you're trying to get max distance.

On 12/1/2025 at 5:32 PM, wordty said:

Thanks very much - would the 150 skip as good as the 100?  Is the only difference reel size and line capacity?

If you're looking at skipping, I would go with a Daiwa. I would strongly recommend trying to find a deal or spend a little more on a Tatula SV.

I don't know I feel like Senko's are one of the few baits you can throw on almost any baitcaster/spinning reel

 

I would just look for an SV or MGL reel (Daiwa for skipping) 

Daiwa Alphas SV 800. $173 from Digitaka

I have the Lew's KVD Casting reel and really love it. They have a Elite casting reel now for $179.99