Mepps MAL Lure Tips Series: Tip #12

At some point, you may need to replace the treble hook on you MAL Lure. Here’s how:




Step 1: Cut off the old treble hook by using a pair of diagonal cutting pliers (a.k.a. dikes) to cut the eye of the old treble hook. DO NOT CUT the wire loop of the MAL Lure’s wire shaft as that will ruin the lure. Wear eye protection, as a piece of the old hook may go a-flyin’! Once the cut is made, you may need to grab the eye of the hook and twist it a bit to get it to spread open enough to remove it from the spinner's wire loop.





Step 2: Remove and set aside the short piece of plastic tubing on the old treble; you’ll use it later.








Step 3: Slide the saved piece of tubing over the shaft of your new treble hook. This tubing prevents “blade strikes”; be sure to reuse it! Since the recommended treble hook is a bit shorter than the original, you may need to trim the length of the tubing just a bit so it does not hinder the treble from swinging freely from the split ring.









Step 4. Using a pair of split ring pliers, spread the split ring open and slide both the spinner’s wire loop and the new treble hook onto the split ring. Continue sliding them in the same direction until the split ring joins the new hook to the spinner’s wire shaft securely.


Suggestions on replacement parts:

Split ring: VMC Stainless Steel Split Ring: Part #SSSR#3

Treble Hook: #4 VMC Short Shank Treble: Part #9651 in black nickel color. Use a #2 treble if you are replacing the treble on an upsized MAL intended for hybrid/stripers.

Important Note: The recommended replacement treble hook is a short shank treble with a shorter shank than the original hook. This is intentional. If you use a hook identical to the original treble hook, the overall length of the repaired MAL will be longer than the original (due to the length of the split ring) AND you WILL get more misses due to blade strikes at the front end of the lure because you now have the treble hook farther behind that blade.






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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!


A LITTLE BACKGROUND: This is one in a series of tips posted for 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.

These are some dang good lures

P.S. - This same process holds true for those replacing the #2 treble on the upsized MALs intended for hybrid and stripers. VMC does carry the same short-shank treble under the product number 9651 in size #2.