Anybody ever tried tying on a triple swivel with a deep diving crank with about 3ft of line on the bottom and a curly tail grub on the other eyelet with about 2 ft of line?

I've tried it a few times and found it to work pretty well. Sometimes getting fish on both baits.

I never thought about taking of the leading treble hook on the crank bait. That would probably help alot with hangups.

If I was catching two at a time on a hell pet, I would try to mark that spot and stop and fish it instead of burning gas. JMO

In a post above the Jet Diver was mentioned. This also works as a poor man's downrigger.

John's picture of the Hell Pet is perfect--

Not that I'm a fan of burning gas but trolling allows you to present baits deep and keep them in a deep strike zone for longer. Sometimes this works better than other methods.

I would much rather set up on a spot and cast to fish but some days you just gotta troll!

Ok I may not be using the right terminology with my original post. I call it trolling because we are in a pontoon boat going about 3 miles per hour while dragging our lures. We usually use Kastmaster lures gold or silver with treble hooks. When a sand bass gets on, we just reel it in. No stopping the boat. So, is this called trolling or long-lining, or are they the same thing? (We only troll when we cannot catch anything else and it is miserably hot.)
Thanks, Patti

I have used the DD22 as well, with the pet spoon. I have noticed it seems to have a noticeably harder pull than a hellbender has.
This could mean the DD22 is diving deeper, but I don't know for sure.
I did catch a 2 lb channel cat with a DD22 on conroe a couple of weeks ago, and a small bass last week.
So far though, that's all I've caught.
I like that 3 way swivel idea, I'm thinking of trying it next chance I get.
It kind of sounds like something that could get all tangled up though.
How would you keep that from happening?

This is fun! J.B. - your comments are right on.

Trolling is fun for beginners and does put fish in the boat. However, the best ways to load up the box do not require burning gas.

Another reason there are some some tolling naysayers on the forum is because there are a lot of inconsiderate trollers on the water. If you are on fish (drifting or anchored) and someone trolls by disturbing your situation, it can be very annoying. Just be courteous.

Finally, I have not had to troll yet this year, but the fish are getting less interested in slabs and sassy shad every week. Especially in the middle of the day. I expect that the next time I am on the hook for dinner, the Hell/Pet will come out!! Call me what you wish, but I will be eating good.

There are a lot of inconsiderate people on the water, not just trollers. When I am bank fishing, seldom is there a time when I do not encounter extremely rude individuals.
Yesterday, a boat filled with partiers, dropped off an individual near where I was fishing, then drove the boat directly over my line. Once they were at the spot directly over my line they cranked up the stereo so loud, you could have heard it from outer space.
The friday before last, after dark, 2 fishermen anchored their boat directly over my line. I yelled at them they were parked over my bait. The head idiot said Sorry Dude, we didn't see you. Then they moved their boat about 30 feet, anchored, then banged around with all their [censored] for the next 2 hours.
I don't holler and scream, and fire shots over their head or anything.
I'm just kind of sad that so many people nowadays are such jerks.

1. I never troll around anybody
2. I only troll over structure
3. I only let out enough line for the depth of water I am trolling over
Satruday we trolled for 2 hrs and caught right at 120 doing that, 85 went into the box, averaging a fish a minute. Didn't see anybody slabbing them up that fast. Put yourself in my shoes,I am being paid good money to load up the box and if I don't then they won't be paying me good money.
Read the link on my website below regarding the hell/pet

I'm all for trolling, or for whatever method is good for a particular day, as long as it's legal.

+1 Billy

Here's another input. If you do it the way Billy does, you mark the fish first, then troll back and forth through the school in as tight a pattern as possible. With a sharp captain at the helm, you probably won't burn as much gas as you would zipping all over the lake looking for slab takers. The Hellbender will keep the lure at the right depth, maximizing the strike opportunity.

Another reason to use it. When I'm volunteered to take my wife and her girlfriends out for a ride to site see the houses and lake, the front of our center console is mine. I'm putting along at trolling speed with a line in the water while they're in back having cocktails and gabbing.

I've left the hooks on and tied the trailer on the front hook to get the rig to run deeper and have also caught doubles 1 on the spoon and 1 on the bender.

Patti I've hade the rig run as deep as 20'.