If you've scrolled through bass fishing content at all this year, you've probably seen it: a strange, spiky, alien-looking soft plastic that bass apparently can't leave alone. It's called the Coike, and it's arguably the biggest lure trend to hit bass fishing in years.
We've been getting questions about it at the shop, so here's the quick rundown on why everyone's talking about it — plus what we've got in stock if you want to try it for yourself.
What Is a Coike, Exactly?
The Coike is an "urchin-style" soft plastic bait — a spiny, fuzzy-looking lure that doesn't try to imitate any specific baitfish or creature. Instead, it relies on subtle, pulsing movement to trigger strikes, especially from bass that are suspended or have seen every standard swimbait and creature bait in the book.
The style originated with the Japanese tackle brand Hideup, whose original Coike bait built a following in Japan before crossing over to the U.S. market. Once American pros got their hands on it, the trend took off fast.
Why Tournament Anglers Are Obsessed
This isn't just internet hype — it's showing up on the leaderboard. At a recent Bassmaster Elite event on Santee Cooper Lakes, pro angler Chris Johnston won the tournament skipping a Coike-style bait under docks for all four days of competition, finishing nearly 20 pounds ahead of second place. Several other finishers in the top 10 were throwing some version of the same urchin-style bait.
The bait has also become a go-to around forward-facing sonar setups, since it excels at getting bites from suspended bass that are watching the bait fall rather than chasing it down. That's a big part of why it's caught fire in an era when more anglers than ever are running Livescope and Livesight units — the two trends have basically fed off each other.
Demand has genuinely outpaced supply. Original Hideup Coikes have been backordered on most major retail sites for months, which has opened the door for other brands to release their own urchin-style versions.
What We've Got In Stock at PFE
We carry two Coike-style baits plus the specialty weights made to rig them correctly.
Nuisance 20mm x 4.5 Coike-Style Bait — $7.99 Available in five colors: Dark Green Pumpkin, Watermelon Red, Noggin, Clear Blue Flake, and Twilight. Stock on this one is extremely limited right now — if you've been wanting to try the trend, this is one to grab sooner rather than later.
Skinny Bear Shake'Em Up 19mm Coike-Style Bait — $7.99 Seven color options: Gizzard Carp, Red Craw, Scuppernog, Scuppernog Dark, Watermelon, Watermelon GP, and Watermelon Red. Currently well-stocked, so there's more room to experiment with color depending on water clarity and forage in your lake.
Icon Urchin (Coike) Weights — $4.99 (6-pack) This is the piece a lot of anglers miss. Urchin-style baits aren't meant to be rigged like a standard soft plastic — these inline weights are purpose-built for the Coike style, preserving the bait's natural pulsing action instead of killing it with a mismatched weight. Simply skin hook the bait, insert the hook point through the opening, and it locks the weight and bait together so you're not losing gear on a snag. Available in 3/32 oz (slow falls, shallow finesse work), 3/16 oz (deeper water or windy conditions), and 1/8 oz. Stock is limited on these too.
How to Fish It (The Short Version)
Because the Coike's action comes from a slow, natural fall rather than an aggressive retrieve, most anglers are working it on a Neko rig or a light drop shot, especially around docks, suspended fish, and pressured water where bass have already seen the usual baits. Pair the bait with the correct Icon Urchin Weight for your depth and let the bait do the work on the fall — that's when most of the strikes happen.
Get Yours Before It's Gone
Between the tournament results and the general shortage nationwide, this isn't a trend that looks like it's slowing down anytime soon. We've got a limited supply of both bait styles and the rigging weights in stock now — swing by the shop or check out our tackle section online before they're gone again.
📞 731-441-8965 | 📧 pfecamden@gmail.com