On Monday, May 25, 2026, veteran angler Eli Slater from Clare Valley cemented his status as one of the region’s top competitive fishermen by successfully defending his Fisherman of the Year title at the annual Fisherman’s Day competition held at Kingstown Fish Market. The retired Coast Guard officer’s stunning 929-pound total catch put him at the top of the tournament’s highly competitive Class 1 division, earning him his second consecutive championship and third career victory in the event, with his first win dating back to 2007.
This year’s Class 1 competition drew one of the strongest fields in the event’s recent history, with 107 participating anglers aboard 48 registered vessels. By the end of the competition day, only 28 boats returned to shore with qualifying catches, combining for a total aggregate haul of 5,872 pounds of fish across all participants.
In addition to the coveted championship title, Slater took home a diverse prize package headlined by an EC$25,000 cash award. His other prizes included a new Samsung Galaxy S26, six bottles of marine engine oil, a navigational compass, a case of Hairoun beer, a case of Village Ram, and a curated package of local seamoss products.
Speaking to reporters shortly after accepting his award, Slater expressed gratitude and satisfaction with his performance, crediting his win to a deliberate shift in fishing strategy that he adopted after gaining regional fishing experience. He explained that he switched to a semi-long line technique using live bait, a method he learned from a fellow angling colleague based in Grenada. While Slater took the top spot for total category weight, he also claimed second place in the separate single heaviest fish division with a 99.4-pound catch, falling only to Winston Hazelwood, who took that sub-award with a massive 143.7-pound individual fish.
Rounding out the top three overall finishers in Class 1 were Oscar Richardson and Lamar Cordice. Richardson secured second place with a total catch of 742 pounds, earning him an EC$12,000 cash prize, a raincoat, a promotional “taste of Guinness” experience, a compass, and four bottles of engine oil. Cordice finished third with a 567-pound total haul, taking home EC$7,000 in cash, the same raincoat and Guinness experience package, a compass, four bottles of engine oil, and a $300 gift voucher from local retailer Lulley’s Tackle Shop. Richardson also claimed third place in the single heaviest fish category with a 94.5-pound catch.
The annual competition draws competitive anglers from across the region each year, celebrating local commercial and recreational fishing culture while rewarding top performing participants with both cash and in-kind prizes from local and regional sponsors.