texasfishingforum.com logo
Main Menu
Advertisement
Affiliates
Advertisement
Newest Members
TraeMartin, Power-Pole CS, T-Rigger, JoeGoes, EcKo
119150 Registered Users
Top Posters(All Time)
hopalong 120,565
TexDawg 119,510
Bigbob_FTW 94,875
John175☮ 85,892
Pilothawk 83,259
Bob Davis 81,465
Mark Perry 72,280
Derek 🐝 68,311
JDavis7873 67,416
Forum Statistics
Forums59
Topics1,037,799
Posts13,934,704
Members144,150
Most Online39,925
Dec 30th, 2023
Print Thread
MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers #14042464 06/24/21 11:39 PM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Holding The Line Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
Extreme Angler
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Hey folks, I got a message today from James and Daun over at Wooded Acres on Richland Chambers that the shipment of MAL Lures I sent them arrived, and they have the MALs up on the hooks.

They ordered MAL Original chartreuse, MAL Original white, MAL Heavy chartreuse, and MAL Heavy white.

Wooded Acres in Streetman, TX, and National Athletic Supply in Belton, TX, are the only brick-and-mortar locations carrying these MALs for those who don't care to do business online and/or can't wait for shipping.

If you've never been to Wooded Acres, you'll find the Cantrell's very pleasant to do business with, and a wealth of knowledge. I first got to know them over a decade ago when we both had booths at the Central Texas Boat Show.

Get 'em before they're gone.

Good luck, and, if you haven't done so already, please watch the tutorial video before you fish these to avoid "rookie" mistakes: MAL TUTORIAL


Last edited by Holding The Line; 06/24/21 11:42 PM.

[Linked Image]
Bob Maindelle, 254-368-7411
Holding The Line Guide Service
Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Stillhouse & Belton
Ask About Trips for Kids


Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14042509 06/25/21 12:56 AM
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 943
R
RespectTheFish Offline
Pro Angler
Offline
Pro Angler
R
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 943
Those lures got me out of a pinch on a guided trip last weekend. Saturday the fish really wanted a blade bait or MAL worked really slowly back to the boat just few feet off bottom. Sunday, they wouldn't even look at any lures but the MAL lure! 400 fish weekend : )


Clay
Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14042581 06/25/21 02:51 AM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Holding The Line Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
Extreme Angler
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Clay, that's great feedback! You and I have compared notes on the MAL and the variants that led up to it through the years. You may recall that it was actually due to my frustration in being able to locate and catch summertime fish with downriggers, but then NOT be able to get them to hit a slab which originally drove me to experiment with various lures, culminating in the tweaking of the inline spinner into what is now the MAL Lure. It was originally a hot-weather lure. It wasn't until fishing it well into the winter last season that I observed the 58F mark to be the temperature at which it stopped producing better than slabs.

If the hot summer months have a silver lining, it is that we have lots of "MAL season" left!!!

Thanks again for your input. Honest critiques from other guides is a big deal to me.


Last edited by Holding The Line; 06/26/21 10:42 PM.

[Linked Image]
Bob Maindelle, 254-368-7411
Holding The Line Guide Service
Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Stillhouse & Belton
Ask About Trips for Kids


Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14042780 06/25/21 01:03 PM
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 943
R
RespectTheFish Offline
Pro Angler
Offline
Pro Angler
R
Joined: Sep 2017
Posts: 943
I think you got every possible kink worked out of it. I know a ton of thought and experimentation went into finding the perfect configuration and I believe you achieved just that, a perfect configuration. I began experimenting with building my own lures but gave up shortly later because I quickly realized there is nothing I could or would do differently. So I settled for building my own 1/2-3/4 ounce road runners with a small 1/0 hook and that was the end of my experimentation.

I especially like the MAL heavy. My clients did really well using the lure as I demonstrated. Even an 8 year old kid was catching them next to me after a quick demonstration.

Keep up the good work thumb


Clay
Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: RespectTheFish] #14044530 06/27/21 12:43 PM
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,035
Gone Fishin' Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 3,035
Bob,

Sent you a PM. Been using your MAL Lure on Richland Chambers with great results! laugh


Thanks,
Royce & Adam Simmons
Gone Fishin' Guide Service
www.gonefishin.biz

[Linked Image]
Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14045314 06/28/21 01:53 PM
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 67
R
Ross Reamy Guide Service Offline
Outdoorsman
Offline
Outdoorsman
R
Joined: Apr 2013
Posts: 67
Bob,

Another satisfied guide customer here!

One day last week, I had one customer with a MAL tied on and 3 with slabs casting at schooling whites. The customer with the MAL caught 5 in 5 cast, the guys with slabs caught 1 in the same amount of time. Shortly thereafter everyone had a MAL tied on and was catching fish basically every cast.

Ross

Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Ross Reamy Guide Service] #14045910 06/28/21 10:49 PM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Holding The Line Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
Extreme Angler
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Ross, you were one of the first handful of guides who were willing to give the MAL a try, and I really appreciate you doing so. I'm glad this is working out for you. I know the pressure you feel to produce fish for your clients, and when a tool comes along which makes it easier to accomplish that goal, you can gain confidence in it very quickly. Thanks for the kind words!

Last edited by Holding The Line; 06/28/21 10:56 PM.

[Linked Image]
Bob Maindelle, 254-368-7411
Holding The Line Guide Service
Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Stillhouse & Belton
Ask About Trips for Kids


Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14046071 06/29/21 01:40 AM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Holding The Line Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
Extreme Angler
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Royce and Adam, thanks for the good word on the MAL's performance on Richland-Chambers. I've replied to your PM and look forward to hearing from you.


[Linked Image]
Bob Maindelle, 254-368-7411
Holding The Line Guide Service
Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Stillhouse & Belton
Ask About Trips for Kids


Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14046378 06/29/21 01:31 PM
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,618
Dennis Christian Offline
TFF Team Angler
Offline
TFF Team Angler
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,618
Bob, I bought a couple of MAL lures last year. and have tried them off and on. Have you made any changes to them within the last 12 months?

Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14047303 06/30/21 01:06 AM
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Holding The Line Offline OP
Extreme Angler
OP Offline
Extreme Angler
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 1,672
Dennis, yes, there was a significant improvement to the MAL Lure made this past May (2021). Based on client input desiring a faster sink rate, I again worked with Mepps to increase the diameter and length of the metallic body and metallic, powder-coated fin so as to increase the weight. The new product is referred to as the MAL Heavy. It is 7/8 oz. versus 5/8 oz. for the originals like you ordered. The heavier baits are also 3/16" longer than the originals. Here is a 'pros and cons' of the MAL Heavy:

PROS and CONS of the MAL HEAVY

PROS

-MAL Heavy sinks faster. Testing with 20-pound braid and a 25-pound fluorocarbon leader showed a full 2 second faster sink rate through 20 feet of water versus the original MAL.
-MAL Heavy’s larger profile discourages strikes by “dinks” in the 6-9” range
-Lighter braided mainline and/or lighter leader material will improve the sink rate even more.

CONS

-MAL Heavy incurs more “blade strikes” in which fish bite at the blade without getting hooked. This is because the blade is a slightly greater distance away from the hook on the MAL Heavy.
-Some smaller (6-9”) fish will shy away from this larger profile lure, so, if you are fishing with kids or otherwise just want a lot of action from smaller fish, the original MAL Lure is still a better choice.



LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE LAST YEAR WITH THE ORIGINAL…

As I have collected valuable input from MAL Lure users like you, here’s what we have learned:

1. The “magic” temperature at which the MAL Lure really turns fish on is 58F and warmer. After the water dropped below 58F here in Central Texas this winter, slower retrieves with slabs did better, but, as we warmed back up over the last 2 weeks of March, the fish turned on to the MAL Lure once again. In fact, on April 26th, 2021, fishing a half-day trip on Lake Belton with just 4 clients aboard, I enjoyed my single most productive half-day trip in 15 years of guiding. We caught and released 364 fish in just 4 hours. The MAL Lure caught every single one of these fish.

2. Turning your reel’s handle hard and fast for one (or, at most, two) full cranks to get the spinner’s blade spinning is absolutely critical. I put together an instructional video to help anglers through this process.

3. Using a pair of curved-tipped forceps to remove the hook from deeply hooked fish will reduce wear-and-tear on your MAL Lures. If you bend the wire shaft, just use both hands to bend it back straight. Using an MAL Lure with a crooked shaft can make it difficult to get the blade spinning as quickly as desired.

4. If you manage to mess up your MAL Lure’s treble hook, don’t worry. A number of anglers have found that using the MAL Lure with just 1 or 2 points left on the hook is excellent for sight-casting to topwater fish as the reduced number of hook points makes it quicker to take fish off and execute another cast. The original treble may be replaced by attaching with a split ring, but, the additional length will cause you to incur more blade strikes which do not result in solid hookups.

5. Use a swivel. The MAL Lure is designed to spin. It will cause line twist, especially with spinning reels. Using a swivel will prevent line twist. I recommend the Invisaswivel (35-pound test version) from aquateko.com. If you use coupon code MALLURE, you can buy one pack and get one free for a limited time. This swivel is made of fluorocarbon and will not damage the top guide of your rod should the swivel make contact with it. This is not the case for metallic swivels.

ORDER HERE: https://whitebasstools.com/


Last edited by Holding The Line; 06/30/21 01:42 AM.

[Linked Image]
Bob Maindelle, 254-368-7411
Holding The Line Guide Service
Bob@HoldingTheLineGuideService.com
Stillhouse & Belton
Ask About Trips for Kids


Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14047904 06/30/21 04:10 PM
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 491
J
JWC Nauticstar Offline
Angler
Offline
Angler
J
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 491
I will be out on Richland Chambers Sunday and Monday. I have a dozen or so of the MAL lures to really give them a workout. Been using them on Grapevine with limited success, but I haven't put together e decent day in 2 months throwing everything I have at them.

Re: MAL Original & MAL Heavy now at Wooded Acres, Richland-Chambers [Re: Holding The Line] #14048283 06/30/21 09:41 PM
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 197
Herbeck's Lonestar Fishing Offline
Outdoorsman
Offline
Outdoorsman
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 197
The MAL Lure is the real deal. I have purchased both colors and they work like a champ. I have many friends that have been using these while in the boat with me and they are amazed by this lure. Thanks for introducing this to the public!


Herbeck's Lonestar Fishing Guide Service
Contact:
Brent Herbeck
214-914-9566
Brentherbeck@gmail.com
www.lonestarfishingtx.com
Serving Cedar Creek Lake, Lake Lewisville and Lake Tawakoni
10% Discount for Military and Veterans
"Specializing in Trophy Hybrids and Exciting White Bass Action!"
Previous Thread
Index
Next Thread

© 1998-2022 OUTDOOR SITES NETWORK all rights reserved USA and Worldwide
Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.3