LEESBURG, Fla. – Over the weekend in the two Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine Gator Division events on the Harris Chain, Dylan Quilatan made some hay, winning the first with 27 pounds, 1 ounce and finishing fourth in the second event with 19-11. Today, in the Toyota Series Presented by Phoenix Boats Southern Division event at the Harris Chain, the 17-year-old kept rolling, dropping 25-4 for the lead on Day 1.
Behind Quilatan, a bunch of other pros caught good limits, so there are plenty of anglers in fairly close pursuit. But, while Casey Warren, Flint Davis and Douglas Sauls all got more than 21 pounds, nobody cracked into the mid-20s, and nobody has done it twice in one week like Quilatan. If Quilatan can keep it rolling and earn the trophy, he’d be the second-youngest Toyota Series winner ever, behind only 16-year-old John Billheimer Jr.
On the co-angler side, weights were quite good, and Benton Peoples took the lead with 17-15. Behind him, Patrick Brown weighed 16-1, and a bunch of other co-anglers got into the 12-pound range.
Landing key bites puts Quilatan ahead
While everyone else is doing their best to get over 20 pounds, 19 seems like a bad day right now for Quilatan. A high school angler originally from New York City, you can read more about his background here.
“Honestly, it’s a grind,” Quilatan said. “Like, I have no idea what I’m going to catch every time I go out. I’m just trying to make the best decisions possible based on the conditions, the bait fish, the wind. And, I don’t get that many opportunities at big ones every day; so it’s really important, when I do, I try to take my time and put it in the boat when I hook one.”
Catching 15 fish on Day 1 but only getting five really big bites, it was a good testament to how key kickers are in Florida.
“I only had two big bites (Sunday), and I didn’t catch either of them,” Quilatan said of the weekend’s second BFL. “I had the same exact bag, the same exact bites today as I did last Sunday – like, hooked up, fighting them. Just today, I put them in the boat.”
Though 15 keepers is plenty, Quilatan has needed every minute on the water to make hay.
“I try to control everything that’s in my control, retie every knot, check the weather, try to make the best decisions possible on the water, fish hard,” he said. “Like, today, I said I was going to leave my area at a certain time, and I stayed two extra minutes. And I caught a 5-pounder. I’m fishing really hard. Last week in the BFL, I caught the winning fish literally on my last cast, and I was almost late.”
When you’re on a heater, you’re going to draw eyes, and while there is a lot of tournament left, company could be an issue for Quilatan.
“Last week, I had it all to myself, and there’s already guys that are just stopping because they see me,” the high school student said. “It didn’t affect me that much today, but it might tomorrow if there’s more people that start doing that. I don’t know how that’s going to affect me, but I’m just going to put my head down and try to make the right adjustments, because it’s never the same thing every day.”
Given a couple more days and a few more of the right bites, Quilatan could do something pretty special.
Top 10 pros
1. Dylan Quilatan – 25 – 4 (5)
2. Casey Warren – 21 – 6 (5)
3. Flint Davis – 21 – 4 (5)
4. Douglas Sauls – 21 – 0 (5)
5. John Kremer – 20 – 3 (5)
6. Parker Knudsen – 20 – 1 (5)
7. Tracen Phillips – 19 – 6 (5)
8. Bobby Bakewell – 19 – 1 (5)
9. Justin Barnes – 18 – 2 (5)
10. Dylon Smith – 18 – 1 (5)