# Hellbender trolling tips request



## BobBobber (Aug 29, 2015)

Has anybody figured out how much the Hellbender dives down while trolling? Some other trolling devices, like Dipsy Diver, have published estimates as to depth reached by how much line was let out.

Speed also is important. What speed do you recommend for trolling? I can get it down with my I-pilot. The Yamaha outboard does not throttle down slow enough.

I know you can add a small sinker to the Hellbender to get it down more, but I'd rather not. In case we stop the boat or slow down to a crawl, I'd prefer to have the trolling rigs float to the top instead of snag on the bottom.

Plus, what are your favorite lures to pull behind your Hellbenders (a) for white bass and (b) for hybrids?

Lastly, do you paint your Hellbenders? I noticed some on YouTube added stripes or decorations to Hellbenders.

I realize I'm asking lots of questions; however, this will be our first season using Hellbenders.

In the Midwest, we used downriggers and planar boards with mast. But I haven't seen those used in Texas. Hellbenders are faster and easier to rig, so I expect that's the reason.


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## GT11 (Jan 1, 2013)

Everyone will have different setups but here are mine. I tweak my setups based on condition. 

I use silver or white hellbenders with a #12 or #13 pet spoon tied 14" to 18" off the very back eye of the hellbender. I prefer a white hellbender but haven't seen a difference in fish production. We use hellebenders because they are easy to use and easy to find. Based on how active the fish are and how clear the water is, you can change the pet spoon leader length. 

My troll speed is 2.8 to 3.2 mph. That seems to be the sweet spot for catching fish and is the first click on my throttle. A speed in this range also lets me control the diving depth of the rig easier. 

The hellbender will dive from 5' to probably 25'. The depth depends on the trolling speed and amount of line you have out. By keeping my troll speed in the range above, I know how much line I need to let out to get the proper depth. 10' to 15' of line will net me roughly 5' to 7' of depth and I keep going out from there to get deeper. To calibrate or practice, I will run over road beds, note the depth and let out line until I feel the rig hitting the road bed. I then remember how much line I let out. 

I also fish with 20# braid. You will snag with the hellbender and the braid will keep you from breaking off if your drag is set correctly. Once you take the tension off the line, the rig will usually come free of the snag and float up.

I don't know how big your boat is but I don't think you will get the speed you need out of your I-pilot. Plus you cover a lot of water when you troll.


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## Little Mac (Apr 29, 2015)

I use pretty much the same technique as GT11 & have good results


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

Search Hellbender in this forum. Key is getting the spoon or whatever trailer lure you are using to the fish. More line out more depth usually if Hellbender is tuned right. A tad more speed will get you a little extra depth. I have gotten a Hellbender to go to 22' thats the most. I prefer big crankbaits now. They pull easier and the big bills dive better and deeper are are in the $1 bin occasionally the off colors nobody wants!!. Hellbenders are known to start leaking at the bill. If they get water in them forget it they wont dive correctly. You can get the water out by removing the back swivel and taking a very small drill bit. Small enough not to effect the threads and drill in to the body cavity and shake and the water will go out and reinsert hook eye back in. You will have to seal around the bill with silicone. Good luck and watch for glowing fish!! LOL


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## tpool (Aug 21, 2005)

I use about the same setup too (I use 12lb mono, but will try the braid - to see if it gets unhung. Sounds like a great idea!), but I went to jetdivers, mainly because the Hellbender lips get out of whack and won't stay down. I also use a 5ft drop behind the Jetdiver to the Tony Accetta Pet Spoon Jig. I believe the 30ft deep models run around 20ft, and the 40ft runs about 30ft, with just the motor in gear, which I think is about 2.5-3mph...

Here's the 30ft jetdiver... http://www.academy.com/shop/pdp/luhr-jensen-jet-diver8482%3B-30-standard-lake-trolling-rig

T-BONE


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## fishinganimal (Mar 30, 2006)

Tpool PM me I will tell you how to adjust the hellbender to swim straight. And always use a lighter line on the trailer. Most of the time its the spoon that is hung and you will get the diver back. Also always drive past where the rig is hung and pull opposite direction. It will usually pull loose if it doesnt the spoon is hung. Use a strong mainline no matter what it is.


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## BobBobber (Aug 29, 2015)

I was not aware the trolling speed was as high as some of you shared with me. *Thanks.*

That's about what we used trolling for salmon in Michigan. Walleye speeds were lots slower.

We're getting hybrids now using ultralight rods. They fight like the dickens, but they're a bit lethargic. However, I suppose that when water temps warm up, they'll be frisky enough to chase trolled lures at speeds you guys are mentioning.

I should be able to throttle down my Yamaha to those speeds. The I-pilot and its battery would be challenged to attain those speeds.

What color braid line? My favorite brand was FINS Wind Tamer. Green and pink, but I used that in saltwater.


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## Ox Eye (Dec 17, 2007)

I pull both hooks off the hellbender and use it solely as a diver. On the front split ring I add different weight swivel sinkers to get to different depths. I can get some decent depths that way on just troll power. There's countless posts on the site cautioning against powering up to schooling fish. Powering over a school of fish, even at idle speeds, seems counter intuitive. Now, that doesn't suggest I catch more fish that way, but it does seem to work.

If there is some contradicting thought, I'm all ears.


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## fishin_envy (Aug 13, 2010)

Ox Eye said:


> I pull both hooks off the hellbender and use it solely as a diver. On the front split ring I add different weight swivel sinkers to get to different depths. I can get some decent depths that way on just troll power. There's countless posts on the site cautioning against powering up to schooling fish. Powering over a school of fish, even at idle speeds, seems counter intuitive. Now, that doesn't suggest I catch more fish that way, but it does seem to work.
> 
> If there is some contradicting thought, I'm all ears.


Ox Eye, nice to see a fellow Cypress fisherman on the board. I think there could be a never ending debate on the merits of trolling vs. slabbing. Me personally, I prefer to jig slabs, but will adjust to whatever means I have to at the time. With that being said, I would think the best reason to not power over or up to a school of fish is that if you have more than 2 fishermen on board, all can enjoy fishing by jigging over a school or casting into a school vs. just 2 people trolling not to mention how much faster you can catch fish.


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## GT11 (Jan 1, 2013)

I am not sure that a motor spooks whites or at least not enough to make a difference. I have a four stroke which is quite but I have caught them 5' under the boat when trolling, stopped trolling but left the engine running when they start hitting on top and still catch the on the hellbenders that have floated up near the motor and also stop trolling when we see a school and jig for them. 

Fishing for whites (and catching them) in the numbers we see on Livingston makes us feel like we are much better fishermen than we probably really are!!!


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## CB Aggie (Jan 7, 2014)

Some people debate whether jet divers or hellbenders work better. Sometimes the whites like the vibration of the hellbenders. Like some others have said you can tie 2 pet spoons to the diver at different lengths - like 1 foot and 2 feet. Also something I learned from a guide a while back is to get line counters. I think they are at academy. At least they used to have them. Usually about 30 ft with a jet diver (20 ft dive model) at 3mph got me down to about 12 or so feet. However, slabbing is a much better way to catch fish to me. Who doesn't love setting a hook on a fish? Trolling sets the hook itself. You can easily catch more slabbing, but it takes quite a bit more skill and practice than trolling. Also an Ipilot is a lifesaver.


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## troutless (Feb 17, 2006)

I've had good luck the diver magnum hellbender with pet spoon. And I went to a kayak and tried it but I could. Not build enought speed.


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## BSchulte (Apr 21, 2014)

I personally prefer jet divers over hellbenders. The 10-15ft jet divers work great for whites, 30ft for hybrids. The larger jet divers have rattles in them. I use chrome jet divers either trailing 3-5ft leader with chrome and blue rattle trap or with a sabiki rig and chrome/blue rattle. I've found that if you use too lightweight of a lure with hellbender, they will try to walk on you, sometimes popping to the surface. Trolling speed has been covered pretty well, 2-3 mph. I adjust my idle down at lowest setting and let 'er eat.

http://m.basspro.com/Offshore-Angler-Flash-N-Skin-Sabiki-Rigs/product/89594/


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## Ducktracker (Aug 1, 2011)

When I've got people in boat I let them troll while I try and find a good group of whites sitting on bottom then I start slabbing. Sometimes that can take me awhile to find a good group of whites. It gives the people in boat something to do and catch a few.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Ox Eye (Dec 17, 2007)

fishin_envy said:


> Ox Eye, nice to see a fellow Cypress fisherman on the board.


We are under-represented, to be sure.

There is more than one way to skin a cat ... or catch one. Circumstances usually dictate, but it's largely whatever works for you at any given time.

Wave next time we pass on the streets. I'm the one in a gray GMC extended cab w/ a "Say no to Ethanol" sign on the tailgate.


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## whsalum (Mar 4, 2013)

I have never trolled but I have seen times especially close to the hot summer time that it flat out works. I saw a boat close to the mouth of Penwaugh last year catch a limit trolling while I was struggling to catch enough to eat on my slab. That being said I would rather jig up a good mess any day.


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## GT11 (Jan 1, 2013)

whsalum, I agree, I would rather jig but when it is really hot outside, the breeze from trolling sure is nice!


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## ratredcharlie (Mar 12, 2012)

There's a lot of good advice here, but one thing I would add is to consider using a 3-way swivel instead of removing hooks on a Hellbender. Hellbenders are great, but I prefer a 3-way swivel with a crankbait of my choice 18" behind the swivel. Then I put a pet spoon 6' back on the other side of the swivel. This allows you to easily adjust your depth by simply changing out your crankbait. It also allows you to get double hook-ups because you are not removing the hooks on the crankbaits. This works around Austin pretty well for whites and stripes.


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## Whitebassfisher (May 4, 2007)

CB Aggie said:


> However, *slab*bing is a much better way to catch fish to me. Who doesn't love setting a hook on a fish? Trolling sets the hook itself. You can easily catch more *slab*bing, but it takes quite a bit more skill and practice than trolling.


I have a huge batch available.


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