ICAST 2026 may forever be remembered as the year urchin baits invaded American bass fishing. Like Godzilla wreaking havoc on Tokyo, these Japanese-born baits have shaken up the fishing world. Unlike Godzilla, however, U.S. anglers can’t get enough of them.
What began as a niche Japanese lure has become the defining tackle trend of the year, spawning a wave of imitators, driving eye-watering resale prices and prompting almost every major bass fishing manufacturer to unveil its own take on the design.
As I walked the aisles at ICAST, one thing quickly became obvious: The era of the urchin bait has arrived.
SummaryHow a 20-year-old Japanese Bass Bait Took Over ICAST 2026
Urchin baits have become the defining lure trend of ICAST 2026.
Hideup’s Coike grew from a niche Japanese lure into one of bass fishing’s hottest products.
Tournament victories and social media fueled an explosion in demand across America.
Original Coikes reportedly sold for more than $100 on the secondary market as supply struggled to keep pace with demand.
ICAST 2026 has shown that the trend has become an entire tackle category, with manufacturers unveiling new baits, hooks, weights and rigging accessories.
A look at a collection of G-Ratt urchin-style baits from the 2026 ICAST show in Florida.
What Is an Urchin Bait?
At first glance, an urchin bait barely resembles a conventional bass lure. These compact lures are covered in thin strands of soft plastic or TPE that create the spiky, spherical profile that gives them their name. Underwater, those strands pulse with the slightest movement, producing an unfamiliar action that can be fished across both finesse and power presentations.
Why Are They Called Urchin Baits?
Named for their resemblance to sea urchins, these lures don’t actually imitate the marine creature. Instead, a mass of fine strands creates a unique underwater profile and subtle movement unlike traditional worms, craws or creature baits. That unfamiliar action is precisely what many anglers believe makes them so effective.
But neither bass-fishing professionals nor lure designers can tell us what bass think an urchin bait represents in the real world.
“Nobody knows for sure,” said G-Ratt Baits owner and bait designer Gary Collins. “We all have theories, but nobody knows. One of my opinions is that it looks like a chunk of meat or a dead fish, and now you’ve got like 40 tiny little minnows eating on it. That’s why we put these little forked-style tails on the little tentacles on our baits to make it look even more like baitfish eating on a ball.”
The Japanese Lure That Started It All
Long before American anglers were scrambling to find urchin baits, Japanese bass fishermen had already embraced them.
The movement traces back to the Hideup Coike, created more than 20 years ago by lure designer and tournament angler Hideo Yoshida. While the unconventional lure built a loyal following in Japan, it remained largely unknown outside specialist tackle circles in the United States.
That would eventually change as tournament anglers began experimenting with imported Coikes, quietly discovering that the unusual profile could produce fish in situations where more traditional soft plastics struggled. For years, it remained something of an insider secret until tournament success made it impossible to ignore.
How Urchin Baits Exploded in America
Every tackle trend has a tipping point.
For urchin baits, that moment arrived during a remarkable run of tournament victories in spring 2026. Chris Johnston dominated the Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper with a Hideup Coike Fullcast. Alex Davis then won the NPFL event at Lay Lake with an urchin-style bait, and Jason Christie claimed the Bassmaster Elite at Pasquotank River/Albemarle Sound with an unnamed urchin bait.
Three major victories on three versions of the concept showed that this was no longer just one obscure Japanese lure. It was becoming an entire category.
Japanese stars Taku Ito and Kyoya Fujita had already hinted at the Coike’s potential, but the spring 2026 run of victories gave the bait real momentum. Once a few top pros proved it could generate winning bags, other anglers and manufacturers quickly took notice.
“We’ve seen this urchin thing take off in the U.S., but it’s actually been a thing in Japan for almost 20 years now. They actually designed them to be a topwater [bait], but obviously it’s evolved greatly from there,” 2025 B.A.S.S. Classic champion Ethan Fothergill told me at ICAST.
“I’ve been fishing this all different ways, and I also started throwing it as a topwater, but I got more and more familiar with it and realized it’s not just a topwater bait, and now, obviously, everybody in the world wants to throw these.”
Social media amplified the momentum, turning a once little-known lure style into a widely discussed bass-fishing tactic almost overnight. As demand surged, retailers struggled to keep inventory in stock.
Scarce Coikes soon commanded more than $100 apiece on the secondary market, with some listed for as much as $150—an absurd price for a single soft-plastic bait.
With that kind of demand, it’s no surprise that ICAST 2026 is crawling with urchins. Bass-lure manufacturers large and small are unveiling their own versions of the spiked-ball design, along with specialized hooks, weights and other components made specifically for fishing them.
By the time ICAST opened its doors in Orlando, the movement had traveled well beyond early adopters. It had become one of the show’s defining conversations.
ICAST 2026 Is the Urchin Bait’s Moment
Trade shows like ICAST often reveal where the fishing industry believes consumer demand is heading. This year, the evidence is impossible to miss.
The sheer number of new urchin-style baits—and the specialized rigging and storage products built around them—suggests the industry isn’t responding to a passing fad. Manufacturers are betting on an entirely new tackle category.
Bass Fishing’s Biggest Brands Respond
The biggest names in bass fishing were quick to recognize the demand, with several introducing their own versions or expanding their soft-plastic lineups to compete within the growing category.
Rapala’s Crush City, Strike King and Yamamoto Baits each introduced urchin-style lures, while lesser-known brands and newcomers such as Skinny Bear Bass Jigs and Fish or Die Bait Company also entered the category.
While each company has attempted to differentiate its design through material, profile or rigging options, the influence of the original Coike remains unmistakable.
Is This the Next Senko or Just Another Fishing Fad?
Fishing has seen countless lure crazes come and go. Some, like Gary Yamamoto’s Senko stick bait, permanently changed how anglers fish. Others burned brightly before fading almost as quickly as they arrived.
With manufacturers crowding into the category—and companies developing dedicated rigging systems, terminal tackle and even specialized storage boxes—it doesn’t feel like a short-lived fad.
Whether the urchin bait becomes the next Senko or another temporary obsession remains to be seen. What cannot be disputed is how quickly it has captured the attention of tournament anglers, manufacturers and consumers.
Four New Urchin Baits That Stood Out at ICAST 2026
With so many manufacturers unveiling their own takes on the urchin bait, there was no shortage of options on the show floor. These three stood out from the crowd.
Crush City CEO
Brand: Crush City
Product name: CEO
Key feature: A proprietary glass-powder core adds casting weight and helps control the bait’s fall rate, while the Super TPE construction is designed for buoyancy and durability.
Sizes: 15mm and 21mm
MSRP: $12.99 for a three-pack of 15mm baits; $14.99 for a two-pack of 21mm baits
Yamamoto Baits Uni Series
Brand: Yamamoto Baits
Product names: Uni, Uni Mas and Uni Max
Key feature: The natural buoyancy of the TPE works against a weighted rig to help keep the bait higher in the water column and suspended in the strike zone longer.
Sizes: Uni: 13mm; Uni Mas: 20mm; Uni Max: 24mm
MSRP: Uni: $14.99; Uni Mas: $19.99; Uni Max: $20.99
Strike King Chuker
Brand: Strike King
Product name: Chuker
Key feature: An offset rigging hole positions the Chuker at an angle designed to improve hook exposure when a fish strikes.
Sizes: 18mm and 24mm
MSRP: Not available
G-Ratt Pop-a-Web
Brand: G-Ratt
Product name: Pop-a-Web
Key feature: A larger version of the urchin featuring a forked tentacle that closely imitates a fry ball. Unique egg-shaped core provides additional rigging options.
Sizes: 21mm
MSRP: $16.99
Whether every one of these new baits survives the initial frenzy remains to be seen. But more than 20 years after the Coike first appeared in Japan, the lure concept has finally conquered the American bass-fishing industry.
At ICAST 2026, the urchin bait is no longer an oddity or an insider secret. It is everywhere.
