The urchin is bass fishing at the moment — and will remain at the forefront through next year, if the Wired2fish team’s predictions comes true. This once-in-a-generation bait is dominating the sport due to its effectiveness at catching bass across a wide spectrum of conditions.
But with a completely new bait genre comes all sorts of challenges and learning curves, from how to fish it to how to store it. As more anglers finally find urchins in stock, the latter becomes increasingly important.
Don’t Mix Materials, Do Suspend Your Baits
Let’s start with the basics of urchin storage. Most of these lures are super durable TPE materials, but a few are not. If you’ve ever thrown a bag of Zoom worms in a tray with a pack of Z-Man Elaztech baits, you know what happens next. When TPE comes in contact with traditional soft plastics, the two essentially melt into each other. So be sure to store your TPE urchins away from any other soft plastic baits, even other urchins made of traditional soft plastic materials.
You’ll also need a storage solution that suspends your urchins. The allure of this lure is all in those tentacles exploding in every direction from its core. If you toss one of these urchins in a tackle box and come back a couple of days later, you’ll find a deformed bait that will not return to its original shape. Elevating these baits so all the tentacles can stick straight out is critical.
I’ve found a few storage options that fit these two crucial criteria, so let’s dive in.
Gambler Urchin Tackle Boxes
One of the first prototype urchin storage solutions I was able to get in hand is the Gambler Urchin Tackle Box. There are actually two different sizes in the Urchin Tackle Box, one capable of holding baits up to 17mm, and the other suited for baits up to 23 mm. Gambler essentially took two Plano tackle boxes with deep cavities and added peg systems to hold the baits up off the bottom and keep them at arm’s length from each other. The larger bait box can hold six baits, while the smaller box can hold 12 baits.
These boxes retail for $29.99 (for larger baits) and $39.99 (for smaller baits).
SPRO Coike Keeper
SPRO’s urchin storage solution is a foam insert called the Coike Keeper, which can be used in conjunction with a standard deep tackle tray like the Gamakatsu G-Box 3700D2 Deep.
Using the metal wires that come in the packaging with most urchins, you can suspend more than a dozen urchins using the Coike Keeper. Just bend the wires to where they will reach each side of the slotted foam, then slide your bait up on the wire and hang it in place. This system is best suited for smaller urchins, like the 13mm Yamamoto Uni and even smaller baits. The Coike Keeper retails for $6.99.
Gamakatsu G-Box Utility Case 3700D Deep
The G-Box Utility Case 3700D Deep from Gamakatsu has been a crowd favorite so far for storing urchins. These have been sold out for months, so I haven’t gotten my hands on one yet.
The concept is simple. Using the wires that come with urchins, you can bend them to fit perfectly in the slots of this Utility Case. There are two rows with numerous slots designed for holding traditional dividers. This allows for extreme customization so you can store as many baits as possible. This tackle box retails for $21.19, if you can find one.
BUZBE Basic Deep Urchin Bait Box
The Basic Deep Urchin Bait Box from Buzbe won Best of Show for Tackle Management at this year’s ICAST.
Buzbe designed this specifically for storing urchins. It incorporates removable dividers with stainless steel pegs inside, which can be used to store up to 18 mid-sized urchins. The BUZBE Basic Deep Urchin Bait Box is waterproof and airtight, retailing for $39.95.
Evolution Fishing Creature Keeper Cases
Evolution Fishing offers two sizes of Creature Keeper cases designed to store both larger and smaller urchins. Here, metal wires suspend baits across EVA-reinforced, PVC zippered bags. The bags are waterproof and have a clear top for easy identification of their contents.
You can buy either the whole system or just the inserts that fit into Evolution Fishing’s preexisting Soft Plastix cases. These Creature Keepers cases retail for $49.99 and $59.99.
DIY Deep Tackle Tray
It’s not too hard to make your own storage solution, if that’s the direction you want to take. Starting with something like a 3700 deep tackle tray, you can use a lighter and a few metal wires to create your own urchin storage solution.
First, bend the wire so it’s long enough to suspend a bait, but not taller than the cavity of the box. Heat the tip of the wire with a lighter, and then push it through the bottom of the box — the hot metal tip will melt its way through. Once you’ve spaced out several of these wires based on the size of the baits you want to store, secure the lower sections of the wires to the bottom of the box using duct tape. The result is an inexpensive solution for storing several urchins, customized to your needs and preferences.
