by Lainey Muenich, Contributing Writer
The 24th Annual Grand Slam KDW was held at the Riverwalk Events Plaza in Jupiter on May 10th & 11th. This year’s tournament continued to be in memory of Grand Slam KDW founder, Richard Black, who passed away in October of 2014. The tournament saw 125 boats compete for over $50,000 in cash and prizes. “Thanks to the community’s tremendous support, we are so happy to continue Richard’s vision to bring the community together for a great day of fishing while benefiting local charities,” said Kathy Black, Richard’s wife. Since 1996, the KDW has raised over $600,000 for various local charities. Proceeds from this year’s tournament will be donated to charities including the Coastal Conservation Association, Rendina Family Foundation and AustinBlu Foundation. As the boats returned to the docks the excitement grew. The competition was tight, as a lot of nice sized fish were caught. To make the festivities even more enjoyable, participants family and friends could hang out at the Square Grouper or Sailfish Marina to cheer them on and take pictures. In the heaviest overall KDW men’s angler division, Steve Davis weighed in a 46.3lb kingfish aboard “Producer”. Last year’s overall women’s winner Kari Townsend defended her title again this year with a 31.4lb kingfish. The dolphin division also saw some nice sized fish with first place winner Dustin Callahan weighing in a 26lb dolphin and second place winner Ed Demmer with a 23lb dolphin. In the wahoo division, Karl Dyle on the boat “Island Girl” brought in a 15.2lb wahoo to take first place. Karl was also the winner of the Richard Black Memorial Grand Slam Award which is awarded to the angler that catches the heaviest accumulated weight of all three fish. Myla Alligood on the boat “Good Call” took home first place in the Junior Division with a 28.2lb kingfish. The meat division saw a 31.3lb blackfin tuna caught by Michael Grogan, a 7.7lb mutton snapper by Jeff Platz, and a 33.3lb cobia by Robert Murray. All the winners received their checks, trophies and other great prizes during the awards party. For more information on the tournament and a full list of all the 2019 winners you can visit the website at www.fishgrandslamkdw.com.