The iconic Port Lincoln Tuna Classic is one of the premier fishing competitions in the country and in 2026 celebrated a milestone 20 years.
As has been the case for two decades, people from all over the world travelled to the Port Lincoln Marina this March to take part in the 10-kilogram line class catch and release Tuna Classic event.
For organisers Steve Toome and Ashley White, it has been a thrill to see the vaunted three-day event reach such a mark.
“Given the anniversary I think there was a little bit more extra hype,” Ashley said.
“There are guys that would have fished in nearly all of them, which is great.”
Ashley knows exactly what it takes to claim competition honours, as his team headed into the 2026 edition keen to defend their dual titles of Port Lincoln Tuna Classic Champion Boat 2025 and Heaviest Fish Calcutta winners, which saw them take home a $100,800 cheque.
With every year the Tuna Classic is held Steve believes the excitement, prestige and interest around the event has risen.
“The Australia-wide anticipation for the event is unprecedented, because it’s got one of the biggest cash prizes in Australia, and targets only one species,” he said.
“Everyone who loves fishing wants to be involved in some way shape or form; they might be watching from afar following the socials or, maybe planning to purchase a big boat to enter themselves one day, or maybe they are lucky enough to be competing and want to get to Port Lincoln a week early to find out where the fish are hiding by pre-fishing beforehand.
“While many competitors are here for the event they explore the wider region too, many make it a family holiday.”
For 2026 the event included competitors coming in from every corner of Australia, as well as London.
Steve and Ashley noted the full sweep of boats had been booked six months out from the event, but due to unforeseen circumstances some had to pull out, which allowed boats from the waiting list to take part.
The duo took over the running of the Tuna Classic in 2023 and said they quickly realised how much the event means to the wider community.
“We realised how much it means to the people competing, with the banter and build-up and for some it’s the only holiday they take each year, for others it’s the annual weekend of mateship that their souls depend on as a getaway, and then there’s the economic flow-on and how much extra activity the event brings to the local economy,” Steve said.
“From obvious places like tackle shops, fuel providers, to restaurants and hotels or accommodation, to hardware and camping, to both new vehicles or servicing, boat maintenance repairs, upgrades and groceries, even real estate. It’s a big influx of people that wouldn’t normally be here all at once.
“There’ll be partners, wives, husbands, children, friends who all come as a supporter and not necessarily to fish, and there’s been stories of people buying houses in Port Lincoln after they have taken part in the Tuna Classic.”
Teams taking part in the event gather on the Friday night at the Marina Hotel, where organisers go through the rules and regulations, pay tribute to the forefathers who launched the Tuna Classic and remember those who have sadly passed away.
After that comes the Calcutta, which in 2026 included local legend the honourable Phil Channon as auctioneer.
“The Calcutta Auction is where the prize money comes from as each boat gets auctioned off. The way the Calcutta Auction works is simple – bid to buy the boat who may catch that heaviest fish,” Steve said.
“I’ll back myself to catch a whopper so I will bid to buy my own boat, and my mates know that, so they’ll bid me up a bit. The risk for them is low as if they end up buying my boat, but I catch the heaviest fish, I get the trophy [and] the person who bought my boat in the Calcutta will get the cash prize money – it’s pretty competitive.
“It’s that banter and mates bidding you up that increases the prize pool, and the higher the prize pool, the more money goes back to charity – remembering 10 per cent of the Calcutta Prize pool goes straight to Variety the Children’s Charity through Car MLC: the Runaway Brides.”
In 2025 the Calcutta saw a record-high prize pool of $144,400 between the 32 boats with an average selling price of $4500 per boat and $14,400 raised for charity.
On top of that the Brides ran a few fundraisers last year that contributed another $5000, which made it one of the highest grossing fundraising events of their year.
Then comes Saturday.
From early morning spectators gather along the Port Lincoln Marina and Kirton Point foreshore to watch the sensational shotgun start at 8am as all the boats begin the challenge.
“As a competing boat captain, you’ve got an hour to safely get to your preferred fishing spot, and a couple of the faster boats get to their spot early and have a bit of time on their hands to look around, get everything ready, but there’s no lines in until 9am,” Steve said.
“The first eligible Calcutta heaviest fish catch wins a fuel voucher prize from local sponsor Eyre Fuels, which is awesome and is another top local business supporting us.
“When we are out at sea, we are keeping track of the fork length of the biggest fish throughout the two days over the radio, with it being a catch and release fishing competition at its foundation.”
The aim of the event, Steve said, was not to kill many fish – with a contender for heaviest fish required to be more than 78 centimetres from the lower jaw to the fork of the tail.
“If I caught a fish that was 88 centimetres I would let everyone know over the radio that I was going to keep it, to bring it home to weigh in – then of course eat it – and one of the rules is that you can only weigh in one tuna fish per boat,” he said.
“Then if anyone catches a fish under 88 centimetres they’ve got the reason or opportunity to release it, as there’s no point killing a fish if it’s not gonna win or place second or third.”
By 6pm ‘lines in’ is called and each boat finds a safe anchorage for the night.
A few return to Port Lincoln but the majority stay at sea to reduce the travel to the fishing areas on day two.
Many boats come back to the official mothership, the Tacoma, which is hired by the Tuna Classic to put on a hot meal of meatballs, pasta, local beers from Jumpship Brewing and wines.
Competitor Matt Schultz donated the wines this year from his personal collection, something the organisers were grateful for.
“It’s always a great night as Ross Halliday – who literally grew up on the Tacoma – is a fantastic host, he and his crew of volunteers always put on a delicious spread and make sure everyone is fed, hydrated and has a great laugh,” Steve said.
Then there is ample space to roll out a swag or grab a bunk on the historic 120-ton 84-foot wooden boat, which was one of the first to commercially purse seine for tuna in Port Lincoln, and still operates poling trips and special events today.
“We hear some terrific tales of the one that got away and anglers are often helping each other out with where to go, what lure colours worked, and even ‘do you need extra lures or gear?’ It’s one heck of a supportive community who cast the competition aside for the common goal of having a great time,” Steve said.
“Then we’ve got a separate barge that has fuel for the boats that need it as well, which this year was generously donated by loyal sponsor and local business Coleman Marine owner DC.
“We’re usually anchored down at Taylors Island or Memory Cove and then first thing Sunday morning it’s the captain’s time to motor off to the fishing grounds ready for lines in again.”
At the conclusion of fishing on Sunday all the boats return to the marina.
“All the heaviest fish get dropped off to the Marina Hotel and we have independent scientists as our weight masters,” Steve said.
“They check the fish for freshness to prove that it has been caught within the two days and then they’re gonna look inside the gill cavity and stomach cavity to make sure it’s all empty, so that every single fish that gets weighed is on an even playing field.
“We then ask the boats who submitted the calcutta heaviest fish contenders for a video or photo of the angler, the fish on a measuring mat, the rod and reel and lure used, plus the GPS location, all time stamped so we can prove that fish was caught within the competition boundaries and within the time period. There is a lot of money at stake, and we want to do things right by each competitor and ourselves.”
The champion angler prize categories are widespread – from small fry, junior, female and male in both over and under eight metre boat sizes, plus overall.
“We have some amazing honour boards with names of previous champions and some perpetual trophies which get handed out and are fiercely sought after,” Steve noted.
The Ron Forster Perpetual Trophy for the Overall Champion Angler award goes to the person with the most fish individually released, while the Rolf Czabayski Perpetual Trophy is presented to the team who landed the Calcutta heaviest fish.
The most meritorious angler is awarded the Peter Teakle Perpetual Trophy, created by the late Mark Waters of Waters Sportfish Trophies as a way to celebrate the passion Peter put into the Tuna Classic over 12 years.
After the inaugural 2006 Tuna Classic Champion Boat recipient Greg Noble passed away during the year, Steve was proud to introduce a new perpetual trophy in his honour – the Greg Noble Perpetual Trophy Champion Boat – nicknamed “Why Not”, which was the name of one of the vessels which Greg owned.
For Steve, watching the weighing-in process is a highlight of the event.
“When we lift up a big tuna and then the scales start turning, the crowd gathers round, the excitement is electric, everyone there to celebrate the moment, with the angler who is often left speechless.”
After the trophy presentations both competitors and supporters celebrate the Tuna Classic in style, with wonderful food and refreshing drinks at a world class location.
During the three days the event is well supported by generous sponsors, many of whom are involved in the competition as active competitors, which brings a full circle to why the event exists, with its the community and likeminded spirit of each individual who wants the best for those around them.
“Our focus on giving back is undeniable, again it’s the legends within the competition who dig deep and make the donations, they bid to buy and actively participate in other fundraising activities,” Steve said.
“We’ve got Chris Redin from Adelaide Vehicle Centre AVC who year on year donates quality wines, even artwork, to the Runaway Brides to boost their fundraisers, while the Tuna Classic itself donated rod and reel combos too, and if we can use this event as a huge opportunity to give back to charity each year, it’s just another sense of community and support.”
Ashley said the Runaway Brides provided a lot of support throughout the three days, in addition to the 12 months leading up to the event.
“They help us run the event, from the regular committee meetings to invoicing and logistics management, to on the night capturing the calcutta bids, selling Tuna Classic merchandise and they have their fundraising auction and lucky square items,” he said.
The Port Lincoln Tuna Classic is just another reason for people across Australia to have visibility of the beautiful Eyre Peninsula region, to capture their attention and hopefully gain more visitors and competitors over time.
“After all, why not?” Steve said.
