For anglers chasing the hottest bass trend, the Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Moeba and Z-Man Kingpin are standout urchin bait options. For big-bait hunters, the Rapala PXR Stryda 180 brings adjustable-depth glide bait fishing at a mid-range price. For finesse and reaction presentations, the Z-Man ChatterBait Elite EVO HD and Strike King Chuker round out the category.
- Berkley Moeba releases scent continuously, but softer TPE-alternative material sacrifices durability versus competing urchin baits.
- Rapala PXR Stryda 180 offers adjustable Screw Diver weighting system, letting anglers run the same bait at multiple depths.
- Netbait 15-inch Finiky Prop Shot Worm is a micro-diameter option for finesse presentations where shorter worms get ignored.
- Urchin baits as a category dominated ICAST 2026, meaning the market is crowded and differentiation between brands is still being proven on the water.
- CrushCity Avatar Shad, Z-Man Kingpin, and Strike King Chuker round out the eight-bait field across soft plastic and reaction categories.
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There’s no hotter bait in bass fishing right now than the urchin bait. The trend started with Hideup’s Coike, a bizarre-looking soft plastic originally developed in Japan more than two decades ago. Now, urchin baits have exploded onto the U.S. market, with manufacturers rushing to release new soft plastics, terminal tackle, and storage systems to capitalize on the craze.
The urchin was arguably the biggest bass fishing trend at ICAST 2026. But it wasn’t the only interesting lure to hit the market this year. There are affordable glide baits, innovative soft plastics, micro-diameter worms, chatterbaits, stickbaits, and plenty more worth a look. I’ve fished a bunch of the new bass lures released this summer, and these eight stand out. Here are the new baits worth adding to your radar—including three urchin baits.
- Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Moeba
- Rapala PXR Stryda 180 Glide Bait
- CrushCity Avatar Shad
- Z-Man ChatterBait Elite EVO HD
- Rapala CEO
- Netbait 15” Finiky Prop Shot Worm
- Z-Man Kingpin
- Strike King Chuker
Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Moeba
Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Moeba
Specs
- Sizes: 3.5”, 4.5” (tip to tip of tentacles)
- Quantity Per Pack: 1
- Material: TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers)
- Colors: 6
- Price: $14.99
Berkley released its version of the urchin in late spring 2026. Called the Moeba, it stands out from the growing crowd largely because of the material it’s made from. Berkley combines its PowerBait and MaxScent technologies to create a pungent bait that slowly releases scent into the water over an extended period. Unlike most urchins, the Moeba isn’t made from TPE, so it’s not quite as durable as some competing soft plastics. But that softer material comes with an advantage: The Moeba sinks naturally under the weight of the bait and hook, eliminating the need for additional weight unless you want to get it deeper faster. The Moeba is available in 3.5- and 4.5-inch versions and six colors ranging from pink to green pumpkin, black, and shad.
Rapala PXR Stryda 180 Glide Bait
Rapala PXR Stryda 180 Glide Bait
Specs
- Sizes: 7”
- Quantity Per Pack: 1
- Material: Hard plastic body/soft tail
- Colors: 8
- Price: $58.99
The Rapala PXR Stryda 180 is the latest addition to the glide-bait category. It has many of the features we’ve come to expect from a quality mass-produced glide bait: rotating hook hangers, stout 1/0 trebles, and a durable hard body. A feathered soft-plastic tail gives the Stryda a slightly different look, but the bait truly sets itself apart with its adjustable weighting. The Stryda comes with a 3/16-ounce “Screw Diver” weight that can be left off to fish the bait high in the water column or screwed into the belly to fish it deeper. Additional Screw Diver weights are available in 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, and 3/8 ounce. With the heaviest weight, the Stryda can reach 25 feet deep while maintaining the side-to-side action that makes glide baits so effective. That makes it an intriguing option for fishing a glide bait around deep fish with forward-facing sonar.
Rapala Crush City Avatar Shad
Rapala Crush City Avatar Shad
Specs
- Sizes: 4”
- Quantity Per Pack: 4
- Material: TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers)
- Colors: 13
- Price: $9.99
Made of highly durable TPE, the Crush City Avatar Shad features a molded lip on the front, gashes along the back half, and holes throughout the body. In my hand, I wasn’t all that impressed, thinking the bait looked a little gimmicky. But once I rigged it on a jighead and tossed it in the water, I watched in awe as the Avatar Shad seemed to come alive. On a simple straight retrieve, the molded lip causes the bait to wobble back and forth, while the chopped-up rear section creates a fluid swimming action unlike anything I’ve seen from a forked-tail soft plastic.
Z-Man ChatterBait Elite EVO HD
Z-Man ChatterBait Elite EVO HD
Specs
- Sizes: 3/8 and 1/2 ounce
- Colors: 19
- Price: $12.99
The latest addition to the chatterbait lineup, Z-Man’s newest vibrating jig addresses several longstanding issues with the design. The bait features a welded triangular line tie that eliminates the risk of a traditional clip-style line tie bending out. Its nano-coated 5/0 hook is also beefed up and includes a standard double-barbed bait keeper for soft-plastic trailers.
The bait starts kicking as soon as I turn the handle, and the trailer keeper is more effective than any I’ve used. The hook and line tie are also incredibly stout—I’m confident the line or rod would fail before the lure. Z-Man also offers a wide range of color schemes, seamlessly blending painted heads and blades with multitone, wire-tied skirts. There’s a color combination for virtually any type of forage you want to imitate.
Rapala Crush City The CEO
Rapala Crush City The CEO
Specs
- Sizes: 15mm, 21mm
- Quantity Per Pack: 3 (15mm) or 2 (21mm)
- Material: TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers)
- Colors: 9
- Price: $14.99
Capitalizing on the urchin craze, Rapala created something new in a segment of the market that is quickly becoming congested. The result is an urchin with flat sides surrounding a powered-glass core. The flat sides create a subtly different movement and fall through the water, and the glass powder core means this bait sinks on its own, even though it’s made using similar highly buoyant TPE material that causes other urchins to float. The CEO of CrushCity won Best of Show in the soft-plastic lure category at ICAST 2026.
Netbait 15” Finiky Prop Shot Worm
Netbait 15” Finiky Prop Shot Worm
Specs
- Sizes: 15”
- Quantity Per Pack: 5
- Material: Soft plastic
- Colors: 13
- Price: $6.99
The 15-inch Finiky Prop Shot just hit the market, and it’s causing quite a stir. A rather ridiculous-looking monstrosity when seen out of context, the oversized finesse worm made a believer out of me the first time I saw it Neko-rigged underwater. I haven’t been able to get my hands on one yet, but the underwater footage convinced me that the Prop Shot might be one of the most realistic-looking soft plastics ever made. When twitched, the worm collapses in on itself. Then, when allowed to fall on slack line, it slowly uncoils in an erratic, asymmetrical motion that looks remarkably lifelike. I showed my wife the video. Her response was simply, “Ew.” I couldn’t have said it better. This thing looks nasty—in a good way.
Z-Man Kingpin
Specs
- Sizes: 3” and 5”
- Quantity Per Pack: 8 (3”) and 6 (5”)
- Material: TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers)
- Colors: 12
- Price: $6.99
The Senko and other soft plastic stickbaits have likely accounted for as many fish catches in the last 20 years as any other bait category. These baits sink with a slow oscillation that is irresistible to bass. Z-Man has previously produced a few stickbaits like this, but the buoyancy of the ElaZtech material used in Z-Man soft plastics prevented their baits from sinking when rigged weightless, making them ineffective on a wacky rig.
Thanks to a new formula, Z-Man has created a material with the same durability and stretchiness of ElaZtech that also sinks naturally. This is a big deal. While traditional soft plastic stick baits are extremely effective, they are also easy to tear up or lose on a fight, which causes anglers to go through several packs in a hurry. While I haven’t fished with the Kingpin yet, I’m confident I can catch multiple bass on just one of these sinking ElaZtech stick baits, thanks to the track record of Z-Man’s Finesse TRD rigged on a Ned rig—one TRD typically lasts me several trips.
Strike King Chuker
Strike King Chuker
Specs
- Sizes: (center ball) 7mm, 10mm, 18mm, and 24mm
- Quantity Per Pack: 1
- Material: TPE (Thermoplastic elastomers)
- Colors: N/A
- Price: $14.99
The Strike King Chuker is another new urchin bait released at ICAST 2026. Made from durable, stretchy TPE, the Chuker’s standout feature is an offset, shallow-rigging channel designed to help increase hookups. Each Chuker also comes with its own stand, allowing you to store the bait upright in a 3700 deep tackle box. It’s a simple solution to one of the biggest storage challenges these oversized soft plastics present.
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