🇯🇵 🎣 🇺🇸

What's Hot in Japan Right Now

The lures, patterns, and reels topping Japanese tournament reports this week.
Week of June 28, 2026 · 22 catch reports analyzed
📩 Updated every week Follow on X for the weekly JDM lure report — so you never miss what's hot in Japan.
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🔥 Trending Lures This Week

Based on 22 catch reports from JDM tournament anglers and guides between 2026-05-29 and 2026-06-28.

#1
🎣
Nories
フリップギル 5"
3 catch reports 26 fish landed Biggest 21.3 in
Technique: specialty rig
Hot at: Lake Mishima
📖 Deep dive: stats, hot lakes, tackle setup →

🦔 The Urchin Craze — 2026's Hottest Genre

The breakout trend of 2026: spiny, "fuzzy" urchin-style soft baits. It started in Japan — and now every major brand is racing to release their own.

It all began with the Hideup Coike, a spiny Japanese soft bait that lights up a LiveScope screen like a Christmas tree — perfect for picking off suspended, finicky bass. After years as a JDM secret, it took over US tournament fields in 2026. Now the copycats are flooding in: Gary Yamamoto, Berkley, Hag's, and 6th Sense have all dropped their own urchin-style baits. Here's the original and the chasers, side by side.
Hideup Coike
Hideup Coike 🇯🇵 Japan ★ The Original
The original. A dense elastomer ball covered in soft spines — huge in Japan for years before exploding across US tournament fields. Comes in Fullcast 23mm, 17mm, 13mm, Kyu 9.5mm and the fuzzy-worm Coike Thunder.
Gary Yamamoto Yamamoto Uni
Gary Yamamoto Yamamoto Uni 🇯🇵 Japan
Yamamoto's take on the spiny urchin profile from the brand that made the Senko a household name.
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Hag's Prickly Pear 🇺🇸 USA
An American answer to the genre, built for the same suspended, finicky fish the Coike picks off.
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Berkley MaxScent 'Moeba 🇺🇸 USA
Berkley's freshly-dropped urchin-style bait — adds their MaxScent formula to the spiny profile.
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6th Sense Abstract 🇺🇸 USA
6th Sense's entry into the category — one more sign that every tackle company is scrambling to supply the urchin feeding frenzy.

🎣 Active Patterns Right Now

Conditions and tactics producing the most fish across Japanese lakes.

Early summer — specialty rig — shallow cruisers
🌡️ Water: 24.0°C / 75.2°F
📏 Depth: very shallow (0–3 ft)
📍 Most active: Lake Mishima
📊 2 matching reports
Early summer — Neko rig — miscellaneous
🌡️ Water: 24.0°C / 75.2°F
📏 Depth: shallow to mid (3–10 ft)
📍 Most active: Lake Mishima
📊 2 matching reports
Early summer — jig — shallow cruisers
🌡️ Water: 22.0°C / 71.6°F
📏 Depth: shallow to mid (3–10 ft)
📍 Most active: Lake Katakura
📊 1 matching reports
Early summer — no-sinker/wacky — bottom contact
🌡️ Water: 22.0°C / 71.6°F
📏 Depth: mid-depth (10–20 ft)
📍 Most active: Lake Katakura
📊 1 matching reports
🎯 Find Tackle for Your Conditions →

🆕 2026 New JDM Reels

The latest Shimano & Daiwa reels released in 2026 — shop brand-new on Amazon US, Amazon Japan, or eBay.

Shimano 26 Calcutta Conquest DC
NEW · Mar 2026

Shimano 26 Calcutta Conquest DC

Shimano · Baitcaster · 100 / 200
MGL Spool IV + I-DC5 digital brake + Infinity Drive. Shimano's flagship round baitcaster retuned for effortless, backlash-free long casts.
NEW · Jun 2026

Shimano 26 Scorpion DC MD

Shimano · Baitcaster · 200
Monster Drive gearing with a 38mm MGL Spool IV. Built to bomb big plugs, swimbaits and glide baits with heavy line.
Shimano 26 Calcutta Conquest BFS Limited
NEW · 2026

Shimano 26 Calcutta Conquest BFS Limited

Shimano · Baitcaster · BFS
The pinnacle bait-finesse Calcutta Conquest — a tiny-spool round reel that casts 1-5g lures on light line like no other.
Daiwa 26 RYOGA
NEW · 2026

Daiwa 26 RYOGA

Daiwa · Baitcaster · 100 (SV) / 150 (LC)
HYPERDRIVE DESIGN round baitcaster in SV and LC specs — a high-torque workhorse for monster swimbaits, glide baits and A-rigs.
Daiwa 26 Tatula BF TW
NEW · Mar 2026

Daiwa 26 Tatula BF TW

Daiwa · Baitcaster · BF
φ30mm Extra Super Duralumin BF spool + HYPERDRIVE DESIGN. A global-standard bait-finesse machine at an approachable price.
Daiwa 2026 Steez SV Light TW
NEW · 2026

Daiwa 2026 Steez SV Light TW

Daiwa · Baitcaster · Light
Steez 20th-anniversary build. Peak casting performance, amplified sensitivity and lasting smoothness for finesse-to-all-around bass.
Shimano 26 Vanquish CE
NEW · Feb 2026

Shimano 26 Vanquish CE

Shimano · Spinning · 1000 - 2500
A 2026 limited racing-spec spinning reel pushing winding sensitivity to the limit — the finesse angler's high-end choice.
Daiwa 26 Certate HD
NEW · Feb 2026

Daiwa 26 Certate HD

Daiwa · Spinning · HD
Full aluminum body and rotor for maximum durability — a power-finesse spinning reel that shrugs off big fish and heavy cover.
Shimano 26 NASCI
NEW · Jan 2026

Shimano 26 NASCI

Shimano · Spinning · 500 - C5000
A full model change with Infinity Drive trickled down from the flagships — the best cost-performance spinning reel of 2026.
Daiwa 26 Freams
NEW · Feb 2026

Daiwa 26 Freams

Daiwa · Spinning · LT1000 - LT6000
AIRDRIVE DESIGN with a ZAION V rotor for a light, crisp feel at a value price — a strong everyday finesse spinning option.

🎰 Featured Classic Reels

JDM-spec reels that match this week's hot techniques — from our partner store with 100% positive eBay rating.

Shimano 10 Stella 2500S

Shimano 10 Stella 2500S

The 10 Stella introduced X-Ship gear meshing and was lighter than predecessors. Still considered one of the best Stellas for bass-sized lures.
View on eBay →
Shimano 10 Scorpion XT 1000

Shimano 10 Scorpion XT 1000

A 100-size, palmable Scorpion — the JDM ancestor of the SLX. Famous for its smooth Super Free Spool and lightweight design.
View on eBay →
Shimano 01 Stella 2500

Shimano 01 Stella 2500

Refined second-generation Stella. Famous for its sealed gear box and silk-smooth retrieve. Still serviceable two decades later.
View on eBay →
See all curated JDM reels →
📝 This week's takeaway

Over the past month (2026-05-29 to 2026-06-28), the most-used lure in Japanese tournament and guide reports was the Nories フリップギル 5" — featured in 3 catch reports producing 26 fish. Anglers are targeting early summer-season fish, the specialty rig technique, particularly on Lake Mishima. All trending lure links route to Amazon US so American anglers can source the same gear used by the JDM scene.
🗓️ Browse past weeks — see how the trends shifted →
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