Bradenton’s Robel Wins Co-Angler Division

LEESBURG, Fla. (April 13, 2026) – Boater Dylan Quilatan of Windermere, Florida, brought a five-bass limit to the scale weighing 34 pounds, 7 ounces, 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 of five events of the season for the BFL Gator Division Presented by Merman’s Revenge. Quilatan earned $4,590 for his victory.

Quilatan said his day began with a clear plan to lean on his electronics and target fish actively feeding on bait.

“I caught them with my ‘scope on,” he said. “I threw a Z-Man Jerk ShadZ and also a 1/2-ounce (Z-Man EverGreen) Jack Hammer, gold shiner color, whenever I’d see them on the bottom chasing bait.”

The Florida angler covered water across multiple fisheries to assemble his winning bag, targeting fish in four different lakes throughout the day.

“I got my fish out of four different lakes – Apopka, Dora, Beauclair and Eustis,” Quilatan said. “I started running new stuff with about an hour and 20 minutes left to scope, and I caught two of the fish right away doing that.”

After a season filled with near-misses, Quilatan said the win was especially rewarding.

“I’ve had a lot of close calls this year – like 50-50 decisions where I make the wrong one,” he said. “This is the first time in a while it all came together. With that three-hour forward-facing sonar rule, it’s so stressful because you have to make the right decision before you even launch, but today I made it work and it feels really good.”

The top 10 boaters finished the tournament:

1st:        Dylan Quilatan, Windermere, Fla., five bass, 34-7, $4,590
2nd:      Paul Vanzant, Umatilla, Fla., five bass, 23-4, $2,130
3rd:       Sean Wooten, Umatilla, Fla., five bass, 23-3, $1,050
4th:       Joey Bloom, Winter Springs, Fla., five bass, 20-4, $1,330 (includes $500 Phoenix bonus)
5th:       Connor MacDougall, Cape Coral, Fla., five bass, 18-9, $720
6th:       John Kremer, Orange City, Fla., five bass, 17-5, $620
7th:       Ronnie Byrd, Williston, Fla., five bass, 17-2, $590
8th:       Eric Panzironi, Longwood, Fla., five bass, 17-1, $560
9th:       Geoffrey Corah, Tavares, Fla., five bass, 16-9, $540
10th:     Dustin Payton, Douglas, Ga., five bass, 16-4, $510

Complete results can be found at MajorLeagueFishing.com.

Quilatan also earned the Berkley Big Bass Boater award after landing a 9-pound, 7-ouncer, worth $200.

Michael Robel of Bradenton, Florida, won the co-angler division and the top prize of $2,145 Saturday after bringing three bass to the scale that totaled 11 pounds, 14 ounces.

The top 10 co-anglers finished:

1st:        Michael Robel, Bradenton, Fla., three bass, 11-14, $2,145
2nd:      Aleksander Rak, Jacksonville, Fla., three bass, 9-8, $1,065
3rd:       William Lewis, Jacksonville, Fla., three bass, 9-6, $525
4th:       Marlei Hunt, Wesley Chapel, Fla., three bass, 9-5, $415
5th:       Phillip Ford, Clewiston, Fla., three bass, 8-15, $460
6th:       Aymon Wilcox, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., three bass, 8-7, $310
7th:       Shannon Bryson, Merritt Island, Fla., three bass, 8-5, $300
8th:       James Hanson, Yulan, N.Y., three bass, 8-4, $280
9th:       Travis Clark, Lakeland, Fla., three bass, 8-3, $370
10th:     Blaine Feagan, Port Richey, Fla., three bass, 7-15, $255

Jarod Shelton of Centralia, Missouri, earned the Berkley Big Bass co-angler award after landing a 5-pound, 10-ounce bass worth $100.

After four events, Dylan Quilatan of Windermere, Florida, now leads the 7 Brew Gator Division Angler of the Year (AOY) race with 972 points, while William Lewis of Jacksonville, Florida, leads the Gator Division Co-Angler of the Year race with 925 points.

The top 45 boaters and co-anglers in the division based on point standings, along with the five tournament winners of each qualifying event, will qualify for the Oct. 8-10 BFL Regional tournament on Lake Eufaula in Eufaula. Alabama. Boaters will fish for a top award of a new Phoenix 819 Pro with a 200-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard worth $50,000, while co-anglers will compete for a top prize of a new Phoenix 518 pro with a 115-horsepower Mercury or Suzuki outboard, worth $33,500.

The 2026 Phoenix BFL Presented by T-H Marine is a 24-division circuit devoted to weekend anglers, with 128 events throughout the season, five qualifying tournaments in each division. The top 45 boaters and co-anglers from each division, along with the five qualifying tournament winners, will advance to one of six BFL Regional tournaments where they are competing to finish in the top seven, which then qualifies them for one of the longest-running championships in all of competitive bass fishing – the BFL All-American. The 2026 BFL All-American will take place May 28-30, at Lake Murray in Columbia, South Carolina, and is hosted by Capital City Lake Murray Country Regional Tourism.

Proud sponsors of the 2026 MLF Phoenix Bass Fishing League Presented by T-H Marine include: 7 Brew, Abu Garcia, Athletic Brewing, B&W Trailer Hitches, Berkley, Black Buffalo, BUBBA, Cigars International, Epic Baits, Grizzly, Mercury, MillerTech, Mystik Lubricants, OFF! Deep Woods, Onyx, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Phoenix Boats, PirahnO2, Power-Pole, Precision Sonar, Suzuki Marine, Tackle Warehouse, T-H Marine, Toyota, VOSKER, YETI and Yuengling.

For complete details and updated tournament information, visit MajorLeagueFishing.com. For regular BFL updates, photos, tournament news and more, follow MLF5’s social media outlets at Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

About Major League Fishing
Major League Fishing (MLF) is the world’s largest tournament-fishing organization, producing more than 250 events annually at some of the most prestigious fisheries in the world, while broadcasting to America’s living rooms on CBS, Discovery, Outdoor Channel, VICE, World Fishing Network, RFD-TV, Game & Fish TV and Rumble, and on demand on MyOutdoorTV (MOTV). Headquartered in Benton, Kentucky, the MLF roster of bass anglers includes the world’s top pros and more than 30,000 competitors in all 50 states and 20 countries. Since its founding in 2011, MLF has advanced the sport of competitive fishing through its premier television broadcasts and livestreams and is dedicated to improving the quality of life for bass through research, education, fisheries enhancement and fish care.