Wilks: A good day on the water with Bentz

January 19, 2024

(Editor's note: "Catching Bass with Dustin Wilks" airs four times per week on the Sportsman Channel – 6 a.m. Tuesday, 11 a.m. Wednesday, 10 a.m. Sunday and 4:30 a.m. Wednesday (all times EST). The six-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier provides BassFans with additional insight about each episode in these submissions.)

It’s good to be back with new shows airing on Sportsman Channel. This week I get to fish with Earl Bentz, founder of Caymas boats, for the third new show of the year.

I did a show with him couple of years ago in the heat of summer, but this time we fished in the spring on a small lake in Tennessee.

The day started chilly but by mid-morning it was rapidly warming and the water was up into the 60s with full sun. We determined early on that some fish had already spawned and some were just starting.

After a few flipping fish from heavy cover early on, I had my eye on classic spring baits and one new one.

If you watched (or if you watch on Sunday at 10 a.m.) you will see a lot of quality fish get caught on a raw chicken-color Culprit T-Rex and a new bait called the Culprit Shakin’ Neko Craw.

The raw chicken Culprit T-Rex is by far my favorite weightless worm color. It has a natural look in the water, and I can see it really good. It’s not as obnoxious as merthiolate or pink, which are effective colors as well. That raw chicken really shines, especially when the sun goes up a little.

For any fish that were hesitant on that, I would cast the Culprit Shakin’ Neko Craw and it was an instant bite. That bait certainly got Earl’s attention, but he was content with his confidence bait, a black and blue creature bait. In fact, when he saw me with a spinning rod, he said, “You’re gonna fish with that?”

The Culprit Shakin’ Neko Craw I specifically designed for fishing Neko-style which is a nail weight in one end and wacky-hooked in the middle. I wanted it to fall the same as a worm, so it is very smooth and streamlined. It's a remarkable bait and it's just hitting the market.

We also had some really ferocious bites and caught a lot of fish on a frog rigged with 50-pound Yo-Zuri braid. There is nothing more exciting than the big bites you can get a frog.

We ended up catching way more fish than we could fit into the show, but my editor did a nice job sorting out the best ones.

More important than the fishing were the insights I gained from Earl, who has been in the boat business his whole life and employs a lot of great people at the Ashland City, Tennessee Caymas boat plant.

Earl told me how encouraged he was both at Caymas and in the fishing industry in general about the younger generations. He said a lot of great young people are working at Caymas and the future remains bright. Same goes for fishing – lots of middle and high school kids are completely eaten up with fishing!

We discussed how bass boats have gotten bigger and more advanced in every way with price tags that will take your breath away.

Caymas boats are capable of tackling the biggest of lakes and the skinniest of backwaters, all in style and comfort. They are built to handle all of today's equipment and jump out of the hole, all while carrying loads of gear from Power-Poles to multiple graphs and batteries.

The design Earl and his team have come up with creates a boat with low center of gravity, improving all aspects of boat performance. I’m particularly impressed with the handling – it turns like it's on rails!

The inside layout is the result of consultations with numerous guides and professional fishermen, and you can clearly see and feel the difference if you spend a day in one.

Mine is rigged with a Yamaha SHO and it jumps on plane even when the boat is completely loaded. The whole thing is just so impressive.

I could go on and on about how nice Caymas is and since I did a show with the man himself, I guess that is ok!

I hope you enjoyed the show and picked up some good fishing tips and boat knowledge.