First let me say thanks to Superduck for putting this video together and also the use of his wonderful new boat. Also a thanks to DJtriple R for helping catch fish. Our goal was to do a quick how to on the setting up and the using of the famed hell/pet. We went to our first spot and voila, fish stacked up in 12-14 ft. of water, nonstop doubles for duration of video even had to take a commercial break so the cameraman could catch some, lol.
It should be posted below this later this morning.
Enjoy:

you guys make it look too easy! Great job!

That place looks familiar, great job on the video.

how far back do you let the line out?

depends on the depth, if your in 15 feet of water, 3 ft. per foot of depth, so about 45 feet, no more than that.

Thanks for taking the time to put the video together . I had about decided to give up on sandys in the heat of the summer and switch over to crappie. I've resisted trolling up til now, now I think I'll give it a shot. Gettin tired of getting my arse kicked slabbin in the heat .

We went to our first spot and voila, fish stacked up in 12-14 ft. of water, nonstop doubles for duration of video even had to take a commercial break so the cameraman could catch some, lol.

Billy does this mean i need to buy a violin and play it while I troll?

Should be out there later today and maybe there are some fish left to catch.

A Question about tuning a Hell Pet combo?
Some of my Hell - Pet Combos run fine and a few will not. The problem rigs run in circles and after about 25-30 ft they will surface. I have tried bending the wire, and the front tab (bill) but not seen any improvement. How do you tune these rigs. Billy here is an idea, you could post a video about that? Ok but until then.
What is the technique to get these benders to behave and run straight. FYI I run them with the front treble removed and the rear left in place, sure is fun when a big hybrid decides to smack the hellbender.
Thanks in advance.

Here is how i tune one, Let about 8-10 ft. of line with boat running at 5 mph pace, see which way hell/bender runs and slightly bend that front guide of the lure the opposite, don't bend it much or it will be too much going the opposite direction. Usually that will fix the problem, you can also see if Crappie weight is directly below bait and now off a bit, easily fixable by bending eyelet or repositioning weight.
Hope this helps.

Billy is it true that for every second you let out the line that is the depth the hell/pet will run?

I have heard this time & time again and would like to hear a pro's view on it.

Boom

Every second you let out is about 3 feet of line. So if your fishing 15 f t. of water let out 15 seconds of line or approx: 45 feet, no more than that or you will be banging the bottom. Recently we had them stacked in 9-13 ft. of water, we would let out a 12 count, raise rod to keep bait off bottom and get doubles within seconds.

Cool video - now I'm going to have to make a couple of Hellpet rigs and try em' out.

Thanks for the video....

My neighbor and I got out for a couple of hours yesterday evening, put 40 in box in a couple of hours time, throwing about 20 more back, not bad. I had to tune one hell/pet, weight was a little off center, causing it to pull to the right, finally got it tweaked, runs straight now.

My SAturday trip cancelled, if anyone wants to try it let me know. Weekends are a litle tougher, main reason is that with more boats on water I either get spotted and followed or lately seems to be a boat on every point when I get there, however I know enough spots to be able to get on fish without anyone else nearby.

With all of the film offers that I am sure you are getting, I'm surprised that you have time for fishing anymore. You'll probably get some trips booked just so your fans can get your autograph.

What do you charge for an autographed "Billy Seaman Hellpet Rig"?

a knuckle sandwhich.

just messin wit cha Billy. Good job on the video. I'll bet Moe already has the license on those autographed hell-pets anyway.

This is what Billy uses to take the money to the bank:

Where in the world did you find that pic? 688 people viewed my video and nary a trip from it. Go figure.

Ve haf vays.

Easy one to figure - video was free to all. Now there's been a run on Hellbenders and Pet Spoons all across the MetroMess area and they be out doing it themselves now with the knowledge imparted via posted video.

The price of fame has a down side, too.

You still da man, though.

Quick questions:

Rod (action, length) and line choice for this rig and are jet divers a waste of money?

I'm trying to try something different with the family.

Rod choice would be 6'-6" to 7' rods, 12-15 lb. test Ande mono line to the Jet Diver and 10-12 lb. test line from the Jet Diver to the PetSpoon. Use lighter line on the drop line than what's on your reel so if you snag up you lose just the lure.

Jet Divers work just as well if not better and are worth the money and they will float up if you have 2 or more lines out and have to stop to reel in a hybrid. Keep the boat in motion for sandies, rod tip up and get them on top quickly and "ski" (reel fast on top) them in to the boat. The Jet Diver will roll over and come up when a fish is on. Get the 20-ft. Jet Divers (red, I think). It will say what depth on the Jet Diver.

Hold the rods so when you bump bottom, you can elevate the rod tip to make the rig come up some. I've even held the rod above my head with the rod tip straight up when I hit a really shallow area.

Take a permanent black marker with you so you can mark the line ahead of the reel spool when you get a fish on. That way you know how much line to let out each time you put the lure back in the water after catching a fish.

Superduck, great video as usual.

It was truly a pleasure getting to fish right beside the king of the HELL-PET!!

Kool stuff guys I'll have to give it a try!!

Rod Action? Medium, Heavy, fast/soft tip or just soft throughout? I never trolled before and have been using a 6'6" med heavy jig/worm rod, but I feel like I should be using something else.

Thanks for the help.