I just started trying to use this technique to catch whites and hybrids on lewisville. I got in them pretty good on sunday catching 15 or so good sized hybrids using a 6xd crank. I'm curious what are some of your favorite set ups to catch whites, hybrids, or even stripers. What are some good ways to get your lure down to a certain depth without a downrigger?

hell-pet rig... the poor mans downrigger is my go to trolling rig. If you are not familiar with it try looking on YouTube.

That's kind of what I was doing Sunday. I tied a 3 foot line off of the 6xd with another smaller bait tied on to it. Initially I tied it on the back but I couldn't get the bait down any further than 5 feet or so. I tied to the front and it went much deeper. It didn't matter though the hybrids were biting the 6xd so I just took the leader line off. I think I will buy a few Hellbenders though.

Do you think its better to tie it to the rear or to the front.

An umbrella rig would also work very well for those Hybrids. Ron at Nekid Tackle makes his Texoma Transformer rig to where you can attach different size weights so that you can easily adjust the depth of the rigs. You can purchase them both at nekidtackle.com

This ^^^
Since I started using his umbrella rigs I never use the deep divers with the pet spoon trailer rigs anymore.

In my experience, the key to depth when fishing a hell-pet is two things the size of hellbender you choose and the size of the weight on the front end. I use large hellbenders with a 1/2" ounce weight and depending on boat speed gets me down between 12-15'. BTW, take a hammer and flatten out the weight so that is lays against the belly of the bender. This will help keep it from spinning and breaking the weight wire.

I know there are several variables such as braid or mono line, size and type and weight of spoon or jig your using, but how far are ya' ll letting your hellbender out? Thanks

Fish Seeker Planer boards are another good tool for getting baits down. I like them because they are adjustable (have dragged bottom in 40' or water with them), aren't as sensitive to the amount of line out (as long as you don't run them too short on line) as they are to line weight. And they also don't put near as much stress on a rod as the hellbenders do. The only real downside is they don't like to be pulled fast. They are pretty much an idle only deal.

All that said, the hellbender is a good place to start, and umbrella rigs are great once you do the R&D to find out how deep they run with a given distance, line weight, and speed.

A lot of people look down on trolling. I have found it to be a very effective method of catching fish in the right conditions. But there can be a lot more to it than just dragging a random lure behind the boat.

When I first retired and was fishing Texoma and Ray Roberts allot I had the same issue. Fish at 25 feet that would not come up and take my lures at 10-12. I started putting three swivels on the line with two 1/4 oz jigs in front of the crank bait. This will get you down to 20 feet trolling at 2 mph. But like all trolling you will lose gear.

hell pet or shad raps. you can't go wrong.

Everyone's different, I use a 2 ounce egg weight followed by a swivel and a large Rattle-Trap on a 5 foot leader. I can run 20 feet deep at 2mph on the trolling motor.