The Tournament
About & Rules
Everything you need to know before you launch. Read it once so nobody's arguing at the scale.
Overview
A working-marina tournament
The Susquehanna Catfish Classic is an annual two-day catfish tournament on the lower Susquehanna River, hosted by Lake Clarke Marina in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania. It runs the last Friday and Saturday of August, every year.
The format is simple on purpose. Pay your entry, launch when you want, fish the water you know, and bring your best fish to the scale by 4:00 PM Saturday. No qualifiers, no membership dues, no series points to chase. Show up and fish.
Flatheads and channel cats both run this stretch of river in late August, and the Long Level pool has produced serious fish for as long as anybody around here has been running trotlines. Whether you're a first-timer with a jon boat or you've been catting this river for thirty years, you're in the same tournament.
Official Rules
Tournament Rules
⚠️ Draft — pending committee approval
The sections below are placeholders reflecting the confirmed details. Final rules need sign-off from the tournament committee and Lake Clarke Marina before entries open.
1. Entry & Eligibility
- Entry fee is $125 per boat, covering the full two days.
- Maximum four (4) anglers per boat. No substitutions after check-in.
- Every angler must hold a valid Pennsylvania fishing license where required by law.
- Anglers under 16 fish free but must be counted toward the four-angler limit.
- Entries close August 20 or when the field fills, whichever comes first.
2. Tournament Hours
- Fishing opens Friday at 6:00 AM.
- Lines must be out of the water by 3:00 PM Saturday.
- Scales open 4:00 PM Saturday at Lake Clarke Marina and close at 6:00 PM sharp.
- Boats arriving after the scales close will not be weighed. No exceptions.
3. Boundaries
Placeholder — define the fishable stretch of the Susquehanna, upstream and downstream limits, and any excluded or restricted zones. Committee to confirm.
4. Legal Fish & Tackle
Placeholder — species counted (flathead, channel, blue), rod limits, bait restrictions, and whether trotlines / jugs / limb lines are permitted. Committee to confirm.
5. Weigh-In Procedure
- Weigh-in is at Lake Clarke Marina, 1552 Long Level Rd.
- Fish must be alive and in reasonable condition to be weighed.
- Placeholder — confirm number of fish weighed per boat, live-well requirements, dead-fish penalties, and catch-and-release policy.
6. Payouts & Awards
Placeholder — prize structure, payback percentage, number of places paid, and big-fish pot. Committee to confirm.
7. Safety & Conduct
- Coast Guard–approved PFDs required for every person aboard.
- All Pennsylvania boating regulations apply at all times.
- Unsportsmanlike conduct, and any attempt to cheat, means disqualification.
- Tournament officials' decisions are final.
- The event runs rain or shine. Officials may suspend for lightning or dangerous water.
Host & Weigh-In
Lake Clarke Marina
Lake Clarke Marina sits on the west shore of Lake Clarke in York County — a working marina on Long Level Road, Wrightsville. Host and weigh-in are both here.
Launch Friday morning, fish the pool, and bring your best fish back to the same dock. Scales open 4:00 PM Saturday.
At a glance
- Entry
- $125 / boat
- Crew limit
- 4 anglers
- Weigh-in
- Sat 4:00 PM
- 2027 dates
- Aug 27–28