“This year is the Tollgate Island Classic’s 80th anniversary,” club president Adam Meyn said.

“The Batemans Bay Game Fishing Club is one of the oldest in NSW and has a great history. We are glad the tournament is still thriving after 80 years.”

Anglers and boats come from far and wide for the event, held Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

“We have a good mixture of locals, as well as entrants from other game clubs coming from Sydney to Victoria, and everywhere in between,” Mr Meyn said.

“We see a good number from the Canberra Game Fishing Club as well.”

The tournament boundaries are from Brush Island in the north, to Montague Island in the south. And the fishing is shaping up to be good, with plenty of marlin caught recently.

“Marlin are been caught in large numbers with the good water pushing as far south as Eden,” he said.

“The 2015 Tollgate Island Classic saw a record number of marlin tagged and released over the three-day period. Hopefully we see a repeat this year. There has also been some large mahi mahi caught. 

And the good news for the big fish as that they are all pretty much released back into the ocean after being tagged.

“Most game fishing anglers focus on tag and release,” Mr Meyn said.

“It’s not only good for tracking the marlin movements and growth, but to keep a sustainable fishery. In 2015 there were 106 marlin caught, 105 of those were tagged and released.”

This year’s briefing and tournament dinner will be at Corrigans Cove Resort, who are on board as a sponsor. The tag cards and weigh-in will be done at Batemans Bay Marina each afternoon.  

As it is peak time for marlin fishing, there is a series of NSW Game Fishing Association tournaments along the South Coast, with the Bermagui Bluewater Classic on the following weekend and Jess Sams Tournament at Ulladulla on the weekend after that.