It’s the Week of the Coike! The Top 3 Stories from Fishing on SI

In case they slipped by you, following are the most read fishing stories of the week. With the craze of urchin-style bass baits launched at ICAST this past week it’s now wonder: How the 2026 Urchin Bait Trend Can Work for Fly Fishing; Sold Out and Instantly Copied to Death: Inside Bass Fishing's Wild Urchin Bait Craze; The Strange Spiny Lure Taking Over Bass Fishing in 2026

1.) Coike Bass Lure: How the 2026 Urchin Bait Trend Can Work for Fly Fishing

Bass caught with a Coike urchin-style soft plastic bait in its mouth — A bass eats a Coike, the strange-looking urchin-style soft plastic that has become one of the hottest trends in bass fishing. | Photo by Jordan Albertson

On average, every 10 years or so, a new and different lure or technique makes it into the bass fishing scene, and it becomes a major trend because of its success at catching fish.

I'm not talking about adjustments or small changes to lures that already exist. I'm referring to lures that are different than anything seen before, and because of this, anglers are skeptical, even incredulous, until the lure proves itself by the number of fish caught.

I've always fished for bass with both a fly rod and conventional tackle. Bass fishing was my first teacher in fishing, and as a kid I was a fanatic…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

2.) Sold Out and Instantly Copied to Death: Inside Bass Fishing's Wild Urchin Bait Craze

Three urchin-style bass baits of varying sizes and colors in an ethereal underwater world scene. — One bait in focus, and imitators filling in behind it — the exact scene playing out on tackle shop shelves right now. | Photo by Kurt Mazurek

If you’ve been able to get your hands on an original Hideup Coike in the past month, you’re either very lucky or well connected. “Sold Out” is what the rest of us are finding. After multiple high-profile tournament wins, proven success on both sides of bass fishing's biggest technology debate, and nearly every soft plastic manufacturer—from garage crafters to industry giants—racing to build its own version, the urchin-style bait category has quickly transitioned from a popular trend to a full-blown craze.

Baits like these started to creep into the consciousness of American bass anglers after a couple of strong showings by Elite anglers, Taku Ito and Kyoya Fujita. While their performances were worth noting, those guys are well-known as specialists who utilize forward-facing sonar. That put those “crazy looking baits” they were throwing in a category that a huge percentage of anglers wouldn’t touch.

But then, during a one-month period late this past spring, anglers won three major tournaments on three different lakes throwing an urchin-style bait—without FFS…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

3.) The Strange Spiny Lure Taking Over Bass Fishing in 2026

Coike soft plastic bait — The Coike, spiny ball, or urchin-bait is the hottest bass lure in the country right now. | Dave Rush, Outdoor Brand Team

The Coike, a dense elastomer ball covered in soft spines, looks more like a sea urchin than a bass lure. Over the past year it has become one of the most talked-about baits in professional bass fishing.

A little over a year ago, I attended a writer’s conference at Lake Hartwell, South Carolina. Among the various fishing brands present was a Japanese company called Hideup, which offered an assortment of odd-looking, spiny soft plastic baits called the Coike. They’d been popular in Japan for some time, but were just entering the US market.

While intrigued, I assumed the unusual baits were likely a passing novelty, stuffed them in my bag, and mostly forgot about them. But the following weekend I, and lots of other curious bass anglers, watched a professional from Japan hammering monster largemouth bass with a similar urchin-style bait during a BASSMASTER event on Lake Fork, Texas. Had I known the increased demand would make them so scarce in early 2026, I would’ve ordered a lot more when I had the chance…GET THE REST OF THE STORY HERE.

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