On the driver's side, you may find it helpful to remove the coolant overflow bottle. No need to unbolt anything, the bottle slides diagonally up off the rail towards the center of the car. That's the best place to get a look at what's going on in there.
On the passenger side, depending on your mods, you may be reaching into the little airbox? It's been a long time since I've had a stock setup in that area so I don't remember.
The spring hooks you're pulling on go towards the front of the car to release the tension and then slightly outwards (away from engine bay) to clear the latch point.
The corners themselves are then freed up to pull straight forward towards front of the car... do not pull away from the sides until all the tabs are cleared. It's very easy to break the tabs.