When the bite gets tough during post-spawn, MLF Pro Angler Drew Gill knows exactly which bait to reach for: the Coike. On a bluebird-sky day in late May on a small reservoir in Southern Indiana, Gill put the viral soft plastic to the test, and once again, it delivered.

Bright Skies, Warming Water, and a Bait That Keeps Producing

The conditions were about as classic post-spawn as it gets. The high temperature climbed to 88 degrees under cloudless, bluebird skies, with water temps sitting at 76 degrees. Bass were transitioning off bedding areas and relating tightly to cover and structure, exactly the scenario where the Coike shines.

Gill has leaned on the Coike heavily this season, and he’s not alone. The squid-like, tentacled soft plastic has become one of the most talked-about baits in bass fishing recently, and Gill credits its unique profile and slow rate of fall for its effectiveness. Rigged with a single hook and either a 1/32-ounce or 1/16-ounce nail weight tucked inside, the bait sinks slowly and nearly suspends on a tight line, a trait Gill says bass simply can’t ignore.

Fishing It Like a Glide Bait

Rather than treating the Coike like a typical soft plastic, Gill fishes it more like a glide bait, on beefier line with a 2/0 hook, snapping it aggressively around laydowns and stumps to trigger reaction bites. That approach paid off almost immediately, with a fish smashing the bait right on top of a stump.

The real story of the day, though, was a group of suspended fish Gill couldn’t even see on his forward-facing sonar until the Coike pulled them up off the bottom. By letting the school settle and re-group between bites instead of beating the spot to death, Gill managed to pick off several quality fish, including one nearing six pounds, out of a single school over the course of about ninety minutes.

By the end of the session, Gill had boated five solid bass plus a near-six-pounder, proof that the Coike continues to be a difference-maker in tough post-spawn conditions.

Click the video below to watch Drew Gill work the Coike in real time on Anglers Channel YouTube.