How to remove spring from hood hinge ?

Ok guys , I'm showing how little I know here .........
How do you remove the spring from the hood hinges ?
I got a fiberglass AAR hemi scooped hood awhile back , work is progressing faster on the Cuda now .
I hope to have it painted this summer :)
I have the hood hinges on the bench to change the springs with some lightweight hood springs I got from a member on here .
It looks like there is two small retainers at the center of the spring I have to remove to release the spring from the hinge.
I have the spring pressure released , its only connected to the hinge at the center of the spring .
Any tricks or tips guys ?

Cuda Front end removed 004 resized.jpg

Cuda Front end removed 005 resized.jpg

Hood hinge zoomed 2.jpg