Boater Dylan Quilatan of Windermere, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 27 pounds, 1 ounce, Saturday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Harris Chain of Lakes. The tournament, hosted by Discover Lake County Florida, was the third event of the season for the BFL Gator Division. Quilatan earned $4,796 for his victory.
As a 17-year-old, Quilatan is far from a traditional BFL angler, and his age is only the beginning of what sets him apart. The young gun grew up in New York City with parents who don’t fish, “We moved down here five years ago, and I started fishing tournaments after we got a boat,” he said. “I’ve learned everything myself from spending time on the water and doing my own research. My dad doesn’t fish at all. I watch a lot of pro tournaments, live streams and the replays. I mean, I spend so much time behind the steering wheel idling and so much time trying to learn how to fish shallow. I just spend a lot of time out here, and it’s starting to pay off.”
He is a senior in high school and is also fishing Abu Garica MLF High School Fishing Tournaments and has already won a few of those events. He is also competing in the MLF Toyota Series Southern Division this season for the first time.
Last year, fishing the BFL Gator Division as a rookie, he finished fifth in the Fishing Clash Angler of the Year (AOY) standings. This season, his goal is to win AOY – and he’s well on his way. Quilatan finished second in the opener at Lake Okeechobee, seventh at Lake Toho, got the win Saturday at Harris Chain and then finished fourth on Sunday at the Harris Chain in a tournament held as a makeup for an event that was previously postponed. He’s now firmly in the AOY lead by a margin of 60 points over second place with just one event left to fish.
He has committed to Carson-Newman University, in Tennessee after he graduates to gain experience in all kinds of fisheries out of Florida. His dream of becoming a “Pro Angler” on one of the big trails may be only a year or two away!
Boater Joey Bloom of Winter Springs, Florida, caught a five-bass limit weighing 24 pounds, 14 ounces, Sunday to win the MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League (BFL) Presented by T-H Marine on the Harris Chain of Lakes. The tournament, hosted by Discover Lake County Florida, was the fourth event of the season for the BFL Gator Division. Bloom earned $4,584 for his victory.
The Gator Division fished a doubleheader this weekend, starting with a regularly scheduled event on Saturday. They fished again on Sunday in what was actually a makeup event for a tournament that was previously postponed.
Bloom finished fifth in Saturday’s tournament with 19 pounds, 5 ounces. The difference in his win on Sunday was all about conditions.
Bloom caught a quick limit for about 8 pounds, just fishing shallow Kissimmee Grass around docks. He mentioned that the wind ended up pushing all the bait up all the way to the bank, it was not blowing in like that on Saturday. He caught his bigger fish on a Senko and a little swim jig and culled all the way to 19 pounds. After a mid-day lull he moved areas and caught a 7-pounder flipping Kissimmee grass, pushing his total up to almost 25 pounds.
In Saturday’s event, the lack of wind had the bait and the bass scattered. It also affected another critter that Bloom keyed on to dial in the areas with the most bait, the white birds. The area he caught the big ones had the white birds in there feeding on shad! The birds were all scattered and not feeding on Saturday. The wind help push that bait into the grass and the birds helped give him a clue.
This is Bloom’s second BFL victory on the Harris Chain of Lakes along with several others while fishing with his high school partner. He has had 5 bass limits in excess of 30 lbs. several times. Bloom is a Seminole Jr. Angler Alumni and his success comes from spending time on the water. He is also fishing the NPFL Pro circuit for his second year, he was 13th in the AOY standings last season as a rookie. He calls the Harris Chain his home lake and is just a short 45 minute ride from his home.
Congrats to these two young anglers paving the way for high school club anglers to follow!