People can support local Boy Scouts by fishing for the biggest catch or bidding on their favorite items at the Broken Oar Foundation’s 2019 Memorial Bass Fishing Tournament and Auction. The event will be held on June 1 from 8 a.m. to noon at Johnson’s Gardens, located at 3201 Holland Road.

The event is free to attend for those not competing in the tournament.

Entry into the catch-and-release tournament is $30 per person to compete and $10 for children ages 12 and younger. Registration will begin at 7:30 a.m., and anglers can get started immediately, but weighing will not start until 8 a.m.

Competitors will cast from the shorelines of six ponds at the Johnson family farm, and judging will be based on the cumulative weight of the two heaviest fish per competitor.

The first-place prize is $250, second place is $100, and third is $50. Children will compete against adults, but there will also be prizes just for them.

The silent auction will begin at 9:30 a.m. and wrap up around 11:30 a.m., with local artwork, handmade jewelry, gift baskets and other items donated by local businesses. Hamburgers and hotdogs will be served off the grill at 11 a.m. free of charge, although donations are encouraged.

This will be the seventh year for the Broken Oar Foundation’s tournament. The event raises money that allows the foundation to help local Boy Scout families pay for summer camps, uniforms and other expenses.

“Every Suffolk troop is going to be getting a sizable donation at the tournament,” according to Jett Johnson of the Broken Oar Foundation. “We’re (also) letting them know that if there’s a kid in need that can’t afford to go to camp or can’t afford a uniform or anything like that, to use us as a resource.”

The Johnsons first began holding the event in memory of their departed Thomas J. O’Connor IV, who died in May 2013 at the age of 36. O’Connor was an Eagle Scout in Suffolk’s Boy Scout Troop 1 and an avid outdoorsman.

Jett Johnson said it’s been overwhelming to see how this event has gotten bigger and bigger each year, all to honor Thomas and help local Scouts enjoy the outdoors as much as he did.

“I know that my family is just overwhelmed by what this has become,” he said.

Search “Broken Oar Foundation 2019 Bass Fishing Tournament and Auction” on Facebook, call 651-7717 or email jettrjohnson@gmail.com for more information.