Earl Bentz

He was born and raised outside of Charleston, South Carolina, on his family’s farm. When he was fourteen, he left the farm and began working at his uncle’s marine dealership, where he garnered a love for boats and racing. Earl was so good at maneuvering a boat at high speeds, that he began racing boats at the tender age of sixteen. In 1973 he joined the Mercury Racing Team where he raced for eight years and captured nine National titles and two World Championships.

As the “bass boat boom” was exploding, in 1975, he accepted a job with Hydra-sports Boat Company, in nashville, to work on boat design, research and development. During this time, he became the first person to ever drive a bass boat with a V-6 outboard motor on it.

In 1983, he left Hydra-sports to begin his own boat company: Stratos Boats.

Under his leadership, Stratos quickly became a leader in the fiberglass fishing boat industry. In 1987, he sold his company to Outboard Marine Corporation and became President of the OMC fishing boat company, until 1996.

In 1996, with several of his key management team from OMC, he founded what has become the leading producer of wood-free boats in America: Triton Boats.

Over the past thirty years, Earl Bentz and his team have been credited with developing many of the designs and system standards on today’s bass boats. Among them: 6-gauge trolling motor wiring as standard equipment; automatic circuit breaker electronics; wood-free boat construction; retractable passenger grab handles and the most recent innovation: the retractable boarding ladder that received the “Award of Excellence” for lifesaving innovations by the National Safe Boating Council.

Along with his love of fishing, Earl has also found time to become one of the most respected hunters around. When hunting season arrives each September, his staff knows that you can probably find him in the woods somewhere, looking for another mount to add to his already impressive collection.

In case you think he has neglected his civic duties: he has served on numerous industry boards including: the National Marine Manufacturers’ Association; the American Sport Fishing Association; the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation; and on the board of the Middle Tennessee Boy Scouts, to name a few.

Between his personal and corporate donations, he has helped raise millions of dollars for some of America’s most worthwhile charitable organizations and his unwavering sponsorship of anglers across america is legendary.

As fellow Hall of Fame board member, and ten-time Bassmaster Classic qualifier, Guy Eaker told me recently: “in almost thirty years of working with Earl, I’ve never had a written sponsorship contract. One day, several years ago, I asked him if he thought we needed one, and he said “if you can’t trust me with my handshake, then we don’t need to work together.”

He and his wife, Janet, reside in Nashville, Tennessee, with their three daughters.