Attack of the Urchins : The Best Lures at ICAST 2026

Introduction: Without a doubt, urchin baits were the lure category that generated the most buzz at this year's ICAST. Whether you call it genuine excitement or pure hype, these wild-looking baits were everywhere. Building on the fuzzy bait craze, nearly every corner of the industry, from independent lure makers to the biggest tackle brands, unveiled their own take on the emerging profile. The trend has even spawned an entire ecosystem of specialized jig heads, rigging systems, and storage solutions.

The Hideup Coike helped jumpstart the urchin craze here in the U.S., this year no other class of bait was more prevalent on the ICAST show floor

As dominant as the urchin craze was, it wasn't the only story on the show floor. There were plenty of other standout introductions, including innovative frogs, new bladed baits, and fresh takes on traditional hard and soft bait designs. Let's take a look at the lures that caught our attention.

G.Ratt Baits now has a complete lineup of urchin baits

The G.Ratt Pop-A-Webb is a much larger TPE bait designed to imitate a fry ball. The core is 1" and the lure is infused with a scent formula. Here we compare it to the smaller G.Ratt Webber urchin. Two Pop-A-Webb baits retail for $16.99

G.Ratts showcased a complete rigging system for urchins with a hook protector and integrated weight dropper

An example of the Pop-A-Web with the hook rigged and ready for various weights

Skinny was one of the first companies to develop a Coike Fullcast alterative last season and this year introduced dual color laminates

Skinny Bear is also adding a patent pending "skinny hole" in their baits to make rigging easier

Loren and the team at Skinny Bear showing their lineup of new urchin Shake'em Up 10mm and 19mm urchin baits

Strike King was another major brand to introduce their own take on the urchin bait with their Chuker

The Chuker is available in 18mm and 24mm sizes, made of TPE, and has a number of patterns with high-visibility hot tips

Another urchin to debut was the Bait Cave Zora which uses a proprietary blend of plastisol to improve action when twitched

The Zora is made in the U.S.A. and retails for $10.99

Mixing things up is the Fish or Die Anomaly that blends buoyant silicon into a 13mm core for a hybrid presentation. This urchin retails for $12.99

Want to go smaller? The American Baitworks Baitfuel Nano Spike shrinks things down to 9mm

Each Nano Spike has 31 "spikes" and the baits are downsized to target smaller fish like Crappie. These baits will retail for $4.99

A urchin of a different type, the Missile Baits Ike's Dice Jig

Ike's Dice Jig features a 1/0 VMC hook paired with a hand tied rubber skirt and paired with a wire weight holder that allows for quick weight changes. Each of these urchin styled jigs will retail for $11.99 and because it is rubber no special storage requirements are needed with this one

The Hideup School first is elastomer but not a traditional urchin in that it features baitfish profiles feeding

The School fish can be rigged wacky, neko, strolling, or even paired with a jighead

The D Style Geelacanth is another interesting hybrid bait that blurs the lines between a gill and creature and can be fished Texas, Neko, or even drop-shot

Creature or urchin? Maybe a little bit of both. The American Baitworks HexTek Virus

The Virus features a 2.25" oval body with 31 legs. Heavy salt content allows the bait to sink as each leg quivers in the water. A 4 pack retails for $6.99

Pro Angler Cody Meyer shows us the Evergreen Wake Magic which is designed to swim on the surface and make waves with a rolling movement while churning water and leaving a wake with the prop tail

The Evergreen Wake Magic measures 4.13" and weighs 1/2oz. and comes in a lot of great patterns. This new hardbait will retail for $24.99

Daiwa also collaborated with talented lure designer Hiroshi Nishine to create the Mr. Fortune crank which is designed to be fished around structure with wing-like extensions that protrude at the end of the bill, and also features the additional flash of a blade. This fully featured crankbait will retail for $15.99

My favorite frog at ICAST was undoubtedly the Nishine BQ Frog which not only looks great but has a number of unique features designed to solve the biggest problem when frog fishing.... strike to hookup conversions

Purpose built to improve hooksets the hook comes fitted with zinc weights that can be pulled out or inserted to change the hook clearance

Pulling back the harness exposes more hook for better hookups when fishing in open water or sparse cover

A look at the Nishine adjustable hook harness design

A one way valve in the soft body helps release water which also improves presentation and compression during strikes. Each BQ frog retails for $17.49

Nishine also offers a tadpole style bait built with a hard body and detachable elastomer tail. The BQ Otama is armed with a Ichikawa Kamakrir double hook fitted next to a custom willow blade. This 3.4" bait weighs .29oz. and is considered a wake bait. Each BQ Otama retails for $17.49

Nishine also has some of the most realistic looking hardbait lineups. The Erie crankbaits are available in a wide range of sizes and patterns

Also new this season is the Nishine Simcoe lipless crank which is available in three sizes and weights ranging from 1/4 to 3/7 oz.

The Simcoe is a great BFS option and is silent to more accurately imitate the profile and action of a small shad. The two line ties allow the bait to be adjusted for more or less vibration without needing to retie thanks to a included premium snap. Each Simcoe will retail for $15.99

Hiroshi and the team at Nishine Lure Works continue to design and introduce some of the best hard and soft bodied lures in North America

Spro is already a leader in frogs and this year introduced the Prop Frog 65 which adds dual rotating propellers to a hollow body. The Prop Frog will retail for $14.99

A frog with a mace tail? Meet the American Snakehead Custom Siege Frog which is designed to be a modular frog that allows anglers to swap a skirt, mace shaped rattle, or blade

A look at the Siege Frog with the blade option. This customizable frog will retail for $15.99

The Scum Runner is a plastic weedless frog with a more realistic body

Each bait features a printed colorway designed by artist Andrew Gardner

Taking things to another level is the Scum Frog Click Clack Buzz (say that ten times)

Paired with a Sum Runner this inline buzzbait uses a blade striking a ball to help draw strikes. This new hybrid lure will retail for $6.99

The Strike King Two-Time Spinnerbait features dual bladed arms for more vibration and flash

The cool thing about this design is that the twin-arms will collapse on strike to increase the hookup ratio. Each bait retails for $10.99

There were also a few JDM manufacturers like Adusta showcasing new blade bait prototypes

The Adusta spinnerbait is being finalized and showcased excellent detail in design and refinement. Notice how the body has a complete profile under the skirt and extra bend in the top wire to bring the blades closer to the hook for better strike to hookup ratios

Another interesting bait from Adusta was the tiny Crankuri which is a 35nn high speed shallow crankbait

This bait weighs only 4g and is designed to be fished in fast current or dead water with consistency

An urchin spinnerbait? Monsterbass introduced the Mind Sweeper, a 1/2 ounce spinnerbait that comes pre-rigged with an urchin trailer

The urchin adds a unique profile. It will be interesting to see how fish respond to this hybrid bait. Each Mind Sweeper retails for $9.95

Issei is another JDM manufacturer that showcased some intriguing lures at the show

The AK Buzz is a blade hybrid that features both a propeller and front blade designed to help the bait quickly rise

Ballsy profile. The AK Punch has a unique profile that looks like compact craw, among other things

Available in 2.4, 2.8, and 33.3 inch sizes the AK Punch can be fished Texas or on a Free Rig

The 3.3" bait is massive. These baits certainly have a presence and I can see them being effective at punching and drawing fish from cover

Missile Baits also joins the buzz battle with their Buzz Wagon Buzzbait  which is a collab with famed builder Brazalo lures. It is designed to pair with different plastic trailers and retails for $11.99

Nobody does more chatterbaits than Z-Man. Coming this Fall is the PZ2, a more affordable but very durable blade which features a 5/0 heavy duty hook paired with a stainless hex shaped ChatterBlade. These lures will retail for only $7.99

The Z-Man EVO HD features a more robust design with a super heavy duty nano coated 5/0 hook that is 40% stronger than the standard EVO

The EVO HD is finished with wire-tied silicone skirting and will retail for $12.99

Want to go simple and customize your own presentation? Z-Man now offers the BareBonez which anglers can tie their own skirt or pair with a swimbait body for a different profile. The BareBonez will be available in 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2oz. weights for $6.99 each

Z-Man also launched the Octane Minnowz Swimbait which features a ribbed body and the same tail from the SWAD LT swimbait. This bait features the company's 10X tough Elaztech plastic and can be paired with a jig, bladed jig, umbrella rig, or even drop shot. Available in 2.8", 3.3", and 3.8" lengths for $7.99 per pack

Who doesn't have Roboworms in their tackle bag or boat? This season the company introduced a few new patterns including Pro Angler Tai Au's signature 411 which integrates a lot of green flake into the popular MM colorway

Tai shows us some of this season's new Roboworm patterns

Evergreen always brings some quality plastics and the Bull Point Shad is designed to be a great bladed jig trailer

The body has plenty of bulk to stay pinned while the forked tail adds flair to bladed jigs. Each pack retails for $12.99

Another new bait that can be fished by itself or as a trailer is the SPRO Disco Roller which is a 5" shad body that is reinforced and features a feather tail for more flash and action

Kade Gewanter, Marketing Manager at Shimano, talks about the Ledge Runner which won Best of Show in the Saltwater lure category

Shimano had a very engaging customer and press event at ICAST and to spotlight the Ledge Runner it was presented alongside some fresh tuna sashimi and sushi

There are two Ledge Runner sizes and the larger 200 size is armed with single hooks while the smaller 160 is armed with traditional treble hooks

The most innovative aspect of the Shimano Ledge Runner is the lure's ability to be adjusted with a moving and locking ring on the lip to adjust for shallow, medium, and deep running depths on the fly

From freshwater urchins to adjustable saltwater trolling plugs there were a lot of interesting baits to check out this year at ICAST

Next up, we wrap up our ICAST 2026 coverage with a look at some of the show's most interesting watercraft, electronics, apparel, and accessories. From increasingly customizable kayaks and cutting-edge marine electronics to performance fishing apparel and clever accessories designed to organize and protect all those new urchin baits, stay tuned for the products that stood out on the show floor.