Author: Brady Harp
Seemingly out of nowhere, the "Urchin" style bait has taken the fishing world by storm this season. I couldn't tell you what it's supposed to mimic, but I don't think it really matters to the fish. Whether it's a ball of bait (as the original "Hideup Coike" inventor believes it to be), a giant plankton, or something else, the fish eat it! Do fish care what a Senko looks like? I don't think so, but they eat it too!
Countless fish-- and big ones at that-- have been caught on the Urchin style bait early this season. The Lake Martin Elite Series event was won by flipping docks and brush with the miniature size bait, while the Sam Rayburn Open was won by fishing the standard size urchin. The best part about this bait? You can target fish offshore using Forward Facing Sonar or go shallow and fish the bank with it. In both scenarios, I try to keep the bait above the fish and pop it erratically, almost like a jerkbait. Letting the bait flutter and briefly fall before popping it again has proven to be the best tactic for getting a strike.
Rigging this bait can be tricky. I have found that the easiest way to get bites, and keep fish on the hook, has been to almost treat it like a line-thru swimbait. These baits come on a wire in their original packaging, and I use that to my advantage. I will push a tungsten bullet weight anywhere from 1/8 up to 3/16 oz through the original hole and thread my line through that. Then, it's as easy as tying a treble hook to your line. Gravity and water pressure will keep the hook attached to the lure, but once a fish bites, the bait slides up the line and out of the way for better hookup ratio.
As always, having the correct equipment is paramount here. I exclusively throw this bait on the CastAway Skeleton Nano "Drop Shot Special" spinning rod. It's the perfect rod that is light enough to set the hook without taking the bait from the fish but strong enough to get those fish in the boat. Go out and give this "urchin" style bait a try!
