Weather seemed like it might interfere with the recent Thomas J. O’Connor IV 2015 Memorial Fishing Tournament and Silent Auction, but in the end, nothing got in the way of making it a success.

“It went perfect,” said Jett Johnson, coordinator of the event, which raises money for local Boy Scout troops. “Between the weather and the turnout, I think it was beyond expectations.”

In terms of people who registered to fish on six ponds at Johnson’s Gardens, “we had probably 80-plus, and then overall, just people stopping by the event, I’d say probably 150 by the end of the day,” Johnson said.

He noted the level of attendance was pretty consistent with last year. The majority of people were from Suffolk, but the crowd also included old family friends of O’Connor’s that came from as far as Charlottesville.

However, Johnson was encouraged that some attendees were people the Johnson family did not even know, meaning word about the event is spreading.

He said the money raised was still being counted, but probably with expenses, the amount was over $9,000 from that day.

He noted the silent auction grew in popularity, with more items this year and probably just as many people that were just as generous with their bids as last year. More than half of the $9,000 raised came from the auction.

Johnson said he saw success in his efforts to get more young people to participate in the fishing tournament this year.

Parker Duke won first place among the competitors aged 12 and under and received the award of a tackle box full of fishing equipment.

Winning the tournament overall and the $250 prize was Robert Seise, whose top two bass weighed in at 8.61 pounds. Aaron Duman took second place, receiving the $150 prize, and Andrew Eby took third with the $75 award.

Local Boy Scouts will not have to wait long to receive a donation.

“We’re at least going to do a thousand this summer to get the ball rolling for the following years,” Johnson said.

Over the summer, he plans to work with a lawyer to set up a foundation that can consistently help local Boy Scouts in a structured way.

“Once a year, every troop that’s located in Suffolk can apply for funding,” he said.

Once the foundation is established, Johnson sees the possibility of having more of a directed marketing effort to help promote the annual fishing and auction event that honors his brother.