Coike / Urchin Bait

Specialty — urchin / spiny finesse bait

Why it works

Its odd, spiny, invertebrate profile is something pressured bass have rarely seen, and the buoyant material lets it hang dead-still or barely flutter right in a suspended fish's face - a perfect match for picking off individual fish spotted on forward-facing sonar.

Brands that make this style: Berkley PowerBait MaxScent 'Moeba sponsor, HIDEUP Coike, Yamamoto Uni, Hag's Prickly Pear, Z-Man Fuzzy Nuggetz, Strike King Tumble Weed, 6th Sense Abstract

As an Amazon Associate, Texas Hawgs earns from qualifying purchases. Brands marked sponsor are companies Bryan proudly represents — see the sponsors page.

When to throw it

Best seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall

Best conditions: Post-Frontal / Bluebird, Cold Front, Water Clarity

Where to throw it

Depth: 5-40 ft (suspended); cover: Open, Brush; structure: Brush Piles, Points, Bluffs, Bait Schools, Suspended Fish.

How to fish it

Rig it with: Drop Shot, Finesse Fishing, Shaky Head.

Retrieve: Deploy it to a suspended fish you mark on forward-facing sonar, then dead-stick it or barely quiver it - the buoyant spines flutter and hold in the strike zone with almost no rod movement.

Color selection

By water clarity — Clear: natural, green pumpkin, morning dawn · Stained: white, chartreuse

By forage — Shad: white, pearl

Common mistakes

• Working it too much - these baits shine dead-still or barely moving
• Fishing it blind instead of with forward-facing sonar on fish you can see
• Too heavy a weight, which kills the slow, buoyant flutter

Pro tips

• This is a forward-facing-sonar bait first - it is built to hover on visible, suspended fish
• Its buoyancy lets you hold it in the strike zone with a tiny nail weight or weightless
• Fish it on a finesse spinning setup with a light fluorocarbon leader

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