He turned his father's silvers into gold.
At the end of a long day of fishing at the inaugural Fill-the-Hole Silver Salmon Derby, Evan pulled Anthony Crump's raffle ticket out of a hat of more than 120 entries, giving his father a much-needed $620 windfall.
"It came at a good time," said Anthony Crump.
Crump had been working on the cargo beach craft, Helenka V, as a deckhand until knee surgery sidelined him a couple of months ago.
Without work, Crump said his family was beginning to fall behind on some bills.
As they passed the Fishing Hole Fundraisers booth he stopped and bought six raffle tickets for $20.
Crump said he fishes the Fishing Hole just about every chance he gets when he's not working, often taking one or all of his five children.
"I usually bring my whole passel of kids out there," he said.
He used his local knowledge to catch five fish Sunday.
Anglers purchased raffle tickets at the booth, but could only redeem them if they caught fish. The winning ticket split the pot.
Nancy Evans, a volunteer for the derby, said most people were receptive of the derby idea.
"Most people were very cooperative," she said. "Some people even said 'I don't plan on catching a fish, but here is my money anyways.'"
Evans said she was glad to split the pot with Crump, however.
"It ended up perfect," she said. "It's nice it stays in Homer."
Just after 6 p.m. Evans said she was looking around the crowd gathering at the booth to find someone to pick the winning ticket.
After searching the crowd, Evans spotted a dirty-faced Evan and propped him up on the table. She asked him to pick out one ticket, but, accidentally, Evan pulled out two.
"He dropped one and gave me the other," Evans said. "And it was his dad's."
Crump said he was as surprised as anyone when his name was called.
"It was awesome having your own boy draw your name," he said.
Crump said he used the money to pay off some overdue car bills. And his employment luck seems to have changed as well he also was cleared Monday to go back to work.
For the Fishing Hole Fundraisers the $620 earned Sunday will put a slight dent into their goal to pay for part or all of the $50,000 required to buy second-run silver fry to stock the Fishing Hole.
They also are selling raffle tickets for a drawing to be held Sept. 15. Tickets are available at the Homer Chamber of Commerce, the Homer Jackpot Halibut Derby office, the Sport Shed, Ulmer's Drug and Hardware and Kachemak Gear Shed. Prizes for that drawing include a four-wheeler, three guns and fishing gear.
The volunteers also are talking about sponsoring another silver derby later in the year.
Bring your 2-year-old if you have one.
Ben Stuart can be reached at ben.stuart@homernews.com.
Looking for a change in fortune Sunday, Crump and his son headed to the Fishing Hole.
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