White, Chrome,?? What is the chioce?

hellbender color doesnt relly matter as you remove the hooks. it is only used to get the trailing bait down deep. the trailing bait is the one that matters. most use the petspoon in chrome or gold. dosent really matter as long as its good and shiny.

on the hellpet rig the hellbender is just a down rigger.

maybe an attractant too.

you CAN leave the hooks on and tie trailer to front hook eye.
we did this in the mid to late 70s on texoma.
some hit the trailer. larger fish hit the hellbender.

i see no logic in taking the hooks off the hellbender(except for tangles which can be handled with seasoned fishermen). it is a lure. fish will hit it.

i can see why guides use the hellpet method for people who dont fish a lot.

oh. and we always used white

I buy the ones at academy with no hooks on them a buck cheaper than the ones with hooks on them.
Johnny

I remove the hooks on the hellbender because I like to get it down to where it hits the bottom every once in a while to kick up a fuss and attract some attention without getting snagged. I have never tried it on Texoma but if I did I would leave the hooks on the hellbender.

Purple

We buy the ones at Academy with no hooks as well. I have tried to leave one treble on and drag it with a Tony Acetta #13 behind it, and it is almost impossible to keep it from getting tangled up in the leader line. Its not worth the headache IMO. We troll sometimes 4 lines out and I can tell you depending on what day, weather, temps, everything considered, there is really no difference in the color that we have found. One day the white bender with chrome spoon cathes big, the next its a chrome bender with gold spoon with red feather. Its just trial and error and whats working that particuliar day. Tight lines and good fishin to ya!