The Simrad Tollgate Islands Classic 2022 will be held from Friday, January 14, to Sunday, January 16, and will revolve around tag-and-release marlin fishing.

Club president Andrew Turner said he expected about 200 fishers in the competition which could bring tens of thousands of dollars into the local economy.

"Hopefully we'll get a few boats out there this weekend," he said. "We usually get about 45 boats and 200 anglers.

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"The water is blue, and there's fish there to be caught, it's just a matter of getting out there and having a bit of fun.

"We're hoping the tournament will be a bit of an economic boost to the town - there should be tens of thousands of dollars going into the community this weekend."

The tournament will offer more than $30,000 in prizes, but Mr Turner said the fishing was just a "bonus" of the weekend.

"It's more about the social side, the fishing is a bonus," he said.

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"It's about catching up with mates and being out there on the water together.

"It's a tag-and-release competition, so the boat or fisher with the most number of marlins caught will win, but we also have a capture size competition.

"I'd say you'd need anything between 100 and 120 kilograms to win that prize."

Mr Turner expects competitors to also run into a few tuna during the competition.

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"We had a good bite off Jervis Bay in the spring, there was a lot of good yellowfin tuna in close which is unheard of," he said.

"You usually have to get at least 60 kilometres offshore to catch them, but these ones were biting much closer.

"Any tuna is a good tuna - the yellowfin fights harder (on the reel), but the bluefin tend to be bigger."