Since it won't be long till trolling time takes a hold, I was wondering if anyone
Has found or used anything better or easier to use for trolling than the Hellpet rig, By that i mean just one single deep diving lure maybe, any help would be appreciated,

Bill Norman DD 22

Jerry.Steve found a jet diver and i tried a pink lady. Seems like they are about the same as Hellbender. Good luck

You can buy Jet Divers for different depths. They are color coded. I haven't bought any in a few years. Academy sells them.

Spreader and weight. Much easier to fish than a deep diver and works very well.

I've tried and tried the Pet Spoon/Bender combo. Caught a few fish.

When I use a bait that looks the color of shad, Shadrap 5, the White's tear it up. I target whites between 20' and the surface in shallower lakes/areas. My second choice is a Flat A in shad/mirror. I catch more fish by far. Maybe I don't know how to use the pet/bender....

When I use this method, I use a big deep diving crankbait and pet spoon. 3 way swivel with 2 to 4 ft. leaders. I never had much luck with hellbenders. For some reason I could never get them to stay deep and work right. Even tried a weight on the front end. I like the Ronrigs better anyway.

Yep the three way rig is a killer for sure.

I've tried fixing a heavy weight to the front hook eye of the bender too..........

Doesn't take a heavy weight .... Just enough to make it not float ......

To be upfront, I have used hellpets very little. I used one last weekend and got hung up at 30 feet of water! So, they do go deep but they have so much drag. I tried the the jet divers of different depths and didn't have much luck with them because I couldn't keep them deep consistently. They would break the surface every now and then. I quickly lost them to sunken trees or structure.

spreader and weight?

I have trolled hellpets with good luck. I put one out 75 feet and another around 85 feet. I use Chrome pet on sunny day and gold pet on cloudy days. I like the #13 pet. When it is hot I will Troll to find fish. There is a good video on YouTube at Cader Creek . I also got trolling rods with line counter. Have fun 🎣

I use them when "ABSOLUTELY" and I do mean "ABSOLUTELY" nothing else works ..... NOTHING"

Used a chrome Hellbender with a #1 Tony Aceta chrome spoon and caught a limit today! Ernest Paty showed me the Hellpet rig about 10 years ago and it works like a champ.