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Nineteen Years on the Ice: Canadohta Lake's Singles Derby Pays $1,000 for the Musky That Earns It
The 19th Annual Canadohta Lake Ice Fishing Tournament on February 21, 2026, runs 7 AM to 5 PM on Canadohta Lake in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, as a singles-only event targeting Musky, Northern Pike, Walleye, Crappie, and Perch, with a $1,000 top Musky prize, $500 for Northern Pike, hot lunch included in the $50 entry fee, and prizes awarded at the boat launch at 5 PM.
Event details
The 19th Annual Canadohta Lake Ice Fishing Tournament takes place on Saturday, February 21, 2026, at Canadohta Lake in Crawford County, northwestern Pennsylvania, running from 7 AM to 5 PM with prizes awarded at the boat launch at the close of competition. Registration opens Friday, February 20, from 9 AM to 8 PM, and continues Saturday morning before the 7 AM start.
The entry fee is $50 per participant and covers the full day of competition plus a hot lunch provided to all registered anglers. Canadohta Lake is a natural glacial lake of approximately 330 acres in the French Creek watershed, characterized by the cold, clear water profile that supports the tournament’s target species lineup: Musky, Northern Pike, Walleye, Crappie, and Perch.
Competition Rules and Prize Categories
This is a singles-only tournament; teams are not eligible. Each registered angler may use a maximum of five attended lines throughout the competition day. When a fish is caught, it is placed on a stringer and then measured by contacting the designated number or reaching a tournament official via walkie-talkie on channel 4.
Prize distribution follows species categories with confirmed top payouts: $1,000 for Musky, $500 for Northern Pike, plus category awards for Walleye, Crappie, and Perch. An optional 50/50 drawing runs throughout the day at $5 per ticket. Bait and tackle are available for purchase at the local shop on Friday and Saturday for anglers arriving without their own supply. The tournament organizer confirms that if ice conditions are deemed unsafe prior to the event, the tournament will be canceled. Check conditions in the week leading up to the date and contact Jerry through the tournament’s official communication channels for a status update.
Good to Know: Catch and release is encouraged to sustain the lake’s fish population, though competition fish must be presented for measurement before release. Crawford County in February delivers genuine northwestern Pennsylvania winter conditions: plan for sustained subfreezing temperatures, potential wind across the lake surface, and the kind of January thaw variability that affects ice quality unpredictably. A 7 AM start in these conditions requires preparation the night before rather than the morning of.
Canadohta Lake and the French Creek Corridor
Canadohta Lake sits in Venango and Crawford counties, surrounded by the forested hill country that characterizes the French Creek watershed before it joins the Allegheny River system near Franklin.
The French Creek itself, flowing south from its headwaters in New York, is one of the most biologically diverse rivers in the northeastern United States and carries a significant sport fishery for walleye, smallmouth bass, and muskellunge. Families combining a Canadohta Lake tournament weekend with a broader Crawford County itinerary will find the Pymatuning Reservoir, approximately 30 kilometres to the north, one of Pennsylvania’s largest fisheries and a significant waterfowl staging area in winter.
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