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.
GIVE THE MAL LURE A TRY: SEE ALL MAL LURES HEREIf 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!