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. He grew up with parents who don’t fish, in a place that is anything but a bass fishing hotbed – New York City.
Living in the Big Apple for most of his life, Quilatan had an interest in fishing but got a late start – though he did actually catch his first fish in Central Park. It wasn’t until his family relocated to Florida that Quilatan was able to pour his energy into exploring his curiosity about bass fishing.
“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, livestreams 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.”
Quilatan’s interest in the sport is much more than a hobby. He wants to become a pro one day and is already coordinating his educational pursuits to support his fishing.
“I’m a senior in high school,” he said. “This is my second year doing the BFLs, and, you know, I sacrifice a lot for this. I do online school so I can fish as much as possible.”
That includes competing in MLF High School Fishing tournaments and other prep leagues, where he’s already won some big events. Plus, Quilatan is fishing the full Toyota Series Southern Division for the first time this season.
Last year, fishing the BFL Gator Division as a rookie, he finished fifth in the 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.
Now, he’s eyeing his next big step.
“I’ve committed to Carson-Newman University,” Quilatan said. “I was thinking of taking a year after I graduate to try to quality for a pro circuit, but I decided that college was the better option. The reason I don’t really want to try to jump into any kind of pro circuit right now is because the fishing in Florida doesn’t really translate to a lot of the lakes we’d go to. So just going there blind, coming from Florida, I’d be at a pretty big disadvantage. That’s why I’m going to college at Carson-Newman in Tennessee – to gain experience in all kinds of fisheries.”
That level of maturity and focus was a big part of his success at Saturday’s BFL event on the Harris Chain. Quilatan caught a bass on his very first cast of the morning. Then it slowed down dramatically. At 10 a.m., he had a tiny limit for about 4 pounds.
At 10:30, Quilatan thought he was about to turn the day around. He caught his biggest bass – a 7 1/2-pounder – and thought he’d figured out a pattern to catch a big limit. It just never materialized. He tried expanding on that bite until there were just 30 minutes left to fish. Knowing he needed to adjust, Quilatan made a move.
“I decided to run to another lake and caught most of my weight in the last 20 minutes of fishing,” he said. “I caught a 6.7 (pound bass) on my last cast, and I came in with less than two minutes left. I think the biggest key was just staying mentally focused. I live here, and the fish on the Harris Chain are always moving. So you really just have to be able to adjust to the conditions.”
With tournaments coming up on his home fishery, Quilatan declined to say too much about how he caught his fish Saturday. Regardless, for a teenager with huge aspirations, catching them last-minute and validating his instincts goes a long way toward building confidence that he’s on the right path in fishing.
“Just to come away with the win means the world to me,” he added. “It’s all paying off, but you know I just want to thank my parents, my sponsors and the good Lord for guiding me in my decisions during the week.”
