Foreword: This is one in a series of tips forthcoming in the summer of 2022. These helpful suggestions are borne out of thousands of hours of on-the-water experience in pursuing white bass and hybrid striped bass in Texas using the in-line spinners in the MAL Lure family. With tens of thousands of the MAL Lures now in use (and most of those in Texas!) I want to help give current and future MAL Lure users their best shot at catching fish by sharing what I've discovered 'the hard way' in hopes of reducing your own learning curve. These tips are in no particular order.

TIP #3: Use a fluorocarbon leader and braided main line with your MAL Lure.




CAPTION: This is a photo of the fluorocarbon leader material I use, joined to my braided main line via an Invisaswivel.




CAPTION: This is a closeup of the two improved clinch knots securing the fluorocarbon and braid to the Invisaswivel joining them. Note that the tag end of the braid has both a jam-knot and a burnt end, both employed to proactively prevent slippage.

The use of a fluorocarbon leader is helpful in several ways. First, when attached to your main line (of braid) while using a swivel with a fluorocarbon leader attached, the leader length will determine how far from your rod’s tip a fish can be retrieved, thus avoiding reeling a fish up to the rod’s tip. Fish reeled in closer than ~30 inches from the tip stand a far higher chance of dropping off right at the boat, especially if they are held suspended over the water for any length of time, as rookies and kids are apt to do.

Next, due to the limpness of braid, it is much more likely than fluorocarbon to tangle on your MAL Lure’s blade, hook, or line-tie loop. Using a length of fluorocarbon as a leader adds a stiffening segment between your braid and your lure to prevent such tangles.

For those of you who fish with thin braid and land fish by grasping your line and lifting larger fish over the gunwale, you’ll welcome the thicker diameter of the fluorocarbon leader. Unlike thin braid, it will not cut into the top joint of your pinky finger when your hands get soft from being wet.

Finally, using a leader allows the angler greater abrasion resistance to rocks and zebra mussels as the MAL Lure contacts the bottom over and over again. I use 10-, 15-, or 20-pound braid, depending on the application, but always use 25-pound fluorocarbon to accomplish the tasks explained above.

I typically use Sufix 25-pound test “Invisiline” fluorocarbon for my leader material, tied to an appropriate braided line (I use Sufix 832 Advanced Superline in Coastal Camo color), with the two joined by an Invisaswivel.

Concerning leader length. Make your leaders no longer than the distance you want your lure to hang below your rod tip as you prepare to cast (if you cast at all). This will vary by lure and tactic. For the set of rods I use strictly for smoking vertically, I use leaders nearly 3-feet long to help keep kids and rookies from losing fish at the boat by reeling them in too far. For the set of rods I use for horizontal work with the sawtooth method, I use much shorter leaders of 14-16 inches to avoid unwieldy casts.

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If you have tips of your own, feel free to respond to this post, or send a private message. I will give credit where credit is due!

Do you see a lot of line twist in the braid without tha swivel? I'll be trying out a few different Mepps for the first time in a few weeks but I've always been paranoid about swivels. Most of my setups will have J-Braid Grand or 832 with Seaguar Abrazx leaders.

Yes, you will get some line twist no matter if you use casting or spinning gear, but, the twist will be more noticeable, and in a shorter time, with spinning gear.

You can always use a back-to-back Uni-knot without the swivel and give it a try first. If you see the twist based on your amount of usage, then you'll know a swivel will fix that.

Thanks!

--Bob

Good tips. Thanks. Are you tying the line directly on the lure or do you put a snap swivel on the end of the line?

Although I'll cover this more in a future tip, I use a small device called a "Tactical Anglers Micro Power Clip" in 25-pound test to make the connection from my leader to my lure.

I’m seeking opinions for mono or to switch to fluoro leader.

Story: The reason I had an amazing catching experience last weekend with the MAL Heavy lure on Lavon. Due to catching so many white bass the 6 lb mono stretched so thin my clinch knot came undone. One fatal cast to some top water fish, using a bait casting reel, the line halted leaving the spool. I thought O had just made the perfect long distance cast. My amusement turned on a dime when I realized the knot had failed and sent my lure in to the green stained waters of Lavon detached from my rod and reel. I will admit I noticed the line felt rigid and thin. I even had the inclination to retie the lure about 10-15 minutes before this unfortunate event but chose the hot bite action instead of doing the right thing. Knowing losing a MAL could/would happen I purchased extra. I tied on the white blade and went back to catching. This time I was ch coming for line thinning every third or fourth fish. Will fluoro work better for leader than mono due to the lower stretching?

This lure even catches other lures! Anybody else had this happen?

Rick, I think the main issue here, bigger than mono vs. fluoro, is the diameter of the line. 6-pound test is awfully light. I suggest you use at least 20 or 25 pound test for a short length of leader, this way, if you hook a hybrid, gar, buffalo, etc. with some weight to it, you have some insurance. Now, 25-pound fluoro and 25-pound mono are going to be about the same diameter. This is where the invisibility factor of fluoro kicks in. Although even clear 25-pound mono will show up easily in the water, the fluorocarbon will not be anywhere near as visible. You can join your main line to your leader with a swivel, or you can go line-to-line using a pair of 6-turn, back-to-back Uni-knots.

Let me know how it goes! Thanks for using the MAL Lures and for a good report!