The urchin bait craze is real. I've been building lures for over 15 years and bass fishing my whole life. I've watched a lot of trends come and go. Most of them fade. This one is different.
The style originates from a Japanese brand called Hideup and their bait called the Coike: a round central ball covered in multi-directional elastomer tentacles that radiate from the core in every direction. Underwater, those tentacles create maximum water displacement and a puffing, defensive posture that triggers hard reaction strikes from pressured fish. On forward-facing sonar, the dense, spiky profile lights up the screen better than almost anything else out there. That combination is why this style has taken over the professional bass circuit as fast as it has.
The most recent proof: the 2026 Yokohama Tire Bassmaster Elite at Santee Cooper Lakes. Canadian pro Chris Johnston put up 113 pounds, 12 ounces over four days, winning by nearly 20 pounds, skipping and jerking a Hideup Coike Fullcast to shallow cypress trees targeting post-spawn bass. Wins using this style of bait have also come on multiple other circuits, including the Toyota Series and events on Lay Lake and Lake Martin. This isn't a fluke bait. It's winning at the highest level, consistently.
America is getting flooded with urchin-style baits right now. Not all of them are built the same.
The single most important thing to look at when purchasing one of these is the plastic. TPE Elastomer is the right material: the softest, most buoyant, and most durable option being used in urchin-style manufacturing today. If a bait isn't made from TPE Elastomer, something is being compromised. That's where we started when building the 2K Urchin Tackle collection.
New 2K Urchin Baits!
2K Urchin Star
The Urchin Star is built on a Full Cast 20mm core, comes in at 110mm overall (4.33 inches), and is available in 11 colorways. Each bait is packaged in a hard case to protect the tentacles and hold bait integrity. One bait per pack. These are built to last.
Rigging It Right
Nobody has this fully figured out yet, and anyone who tells you otherwise is guessing. What I can tell you is what we've tested and what works. We built three rig options specifically for the Urchin Star, each one designed to give you a different presentation without having to dig through a tackle box to piece it together.
Mach MG Urchin Hook
Our preferred starting point. The 4/0 double hook increases hook-up ratio significantly over a single barb. Thread the eyelet through the bait first, press tight to the crimped bait keeper, and that keeper holds the bait secure without covering the hook gaps. Every strike converts. The fall on this rig is distinct from a treble setup and worth fishing on its own before you add weight. Pair with the Hirudo Weight to complete the build.
Scorpion Stinger Urchin Hook
Hook, weight, stinger: all in one. The Scorpion Stinger combines a 4/0 Mustad Ultra Point Extra Wide Gap hook with a 1/0 VMC 2X Strong Treble on a double wire split ring, pre-weighted at 3/16oz. Tie it on and fish it. No assembly required, no second-guessing the build.
Scorpion Flash Urchin Hook
Everything in the Stinger, plus a ball bearing swivel and willow blade. The added flash and vibration give the Urchin Star a profile that moves water and catches light on the drop, built for anglers who want every edge on forward-facing sonar. When the fish are lit up on the screen and you need a reason for them to commit, the Flash rig gives them one.
The urchin style bait is too easy to fish, catches too many fish, and wins too many tournaments to be a passing trend. I believe it's here to stay. The 2K Urchin Star and these three rig options are our answer: built right, from the right materials, by the same hands that build every jig in this lineup.
Try one. You'll understand.
Dan | 2K Jigs Founder