Shark Camp—Best Ever | Fall Camps Coming | Fishing For Salvation Results
Shark Camp—Best Ever!
Emma's Driftwood Farm Welcomes 30-30 Ministries With Open Arms
Ministry thrives when like-minded people come together around a shared mission.
Last month, 30-30 Ministries entered into a brand-new hosting partnership with Emma’s Driftwood Farm in Darien, Ga. Known by many as a first-class wedding destination on the beautiful Georgia marsh, the owners want folks to know they aren’t only interested in catching the eyes of young brides.
“Emma’s certainly caught our attention as we began to search for a new home for Shark Camp about a year ago,” said Brad Gill, executive director of 30-30. “We needed a place for about 35 folks to sleep, eat and gather for fellowship and Bible study. Emma’s was the perfect fit for what we do.”
Emma’s provided lodging in five different homes on the farm and opened Driftwood Hall for meals and times of devotion. Driftwood Hall can host a variety of events and activities for up to 75 guests and includes a full kitchen. Shark Camp’s meals were again sponsored by Darien Telephone Company and prepared by Capt. David Stevens, including a Saturday evening low-country boil cooked outside under the “Party Barn,” which can accommodate up to 115 people for seated or standing events.
Pastor Terry Richardson presented the Gospel twice at Emma’s, and Shark Campers attended Sunday morning worship at First Baptist Church of Darien for the weekend's final service together.
“This was a fantastic first Shark Camp at Emma’s,” said David Stevens. “This Camp has a lot of moving parts, so it takes a lot of people coming together to make everything run smoothly.”
Part of that team effort includes six experienced boat captains who know how to handle toothy fish.
“Between all the boats, we probably caught 100 sharks,” David said. “Everybody got bit. We used to do this camp in June, and we were able to chase the shrimp boats and connect with those big blacktips and spinners. Without shrimp boats, we stayed with the pogie pods and still found a good number of sharks. On Sunday morning, we ran out to slightly deeper water, used Spot-Lock and put out a chum line. We had a better bite that day, catching 10 fish in about three hours. Our biggest that morning was a 5-footer, caught by a 12-year-old young lady named Carly. Before that trip, her biggest fish was a 1-lb. bass.”
One of the special things about 30-30 Camps is watching Campers head home with meat for the table. Tyler, 15, came to Shark Camp with his granddad, Rick. They hoped to keep a few bonnethead sharks on Sunday morning, and Capt. Merwan Massa with Coastal Creek Charters made that happen.
“I’ve been in the boat with Merwan now for two years as a 30-30 representative—just to be there and do whatever—and I’ve developed a friendship with him,” said Brian Scarborough. “He’s a super guy and knowledgeable about fishing, not just for sharks but anything inshore.”
To book a trip with Capt. Massa, you can message him or schedule it online.
To see everything Emma’s Driftwood Farm has to offer, visit their website. You don’t have to be planning a wedding to enjoy this property. Plus, you don’t have to rent the entire farm—just reserve one of the homes for a few days.
“This might just be that new fishing camp you were looking for,” said Brad. “Tie your boat at their dock, drop some crab traps, and enjoy those epic sunrises over the marsh. Hard to beat that.”
The full photo album for Shark Camp 2026 is on the 30-30 website.
Fall Camp Sign-Ups Starting Soon
We Want To See You In Camp
30-30 spent July and August at three hunting shows, sharing with youth and parents how to sign up for the random drawings to attend one of our fall hunting or fishing camps. As we near the start of our busy fall season, below is the information on how to enter one of our random camp drawings.
All 30-30 Ministries Camps are FREE and filled by random drawing
Eligible youth must be in 6th–12th grade
Each youth must attend with an adult chaperone
We host 30 Camps a year for a wide range of things—deer, bear, hogs, crappie, sharks, quail, rabbits, and more
We’re just a few days away from opening sign-ups for our fall Camp season. Registration typically opens 4–6 weeks before each Camp date. All Camp registrations will be handled through a dedicated CAMP SIGN-UP page on our website. In the meantime, you can preview upcoming Camps by visiting our CALENDAR.
Spence & Harwood Repeat
132+ Lbs. of Catfish Win Fishing For Salvation
Dudley Spence & Jim Harwood are at it again! Not only did they win the 11th annual Brandon Key Catfishing Tournament, they rolled another big win at last month's Fishing For Salvation Catfish Tournament. They brought five fish that weighed 132.79 pounds for a first-place win and $2,000.
Not all team members of the top-10 are listed below. In some cases, it’s just the boat captains.
1st: Dudley Spence & Jim Harwood ($2000 with 132.79 lbs.)
2nd: Phelps & Grindle ($1000 with 128.16 lbs.)
3rd: James Gore Jr./Sr. ($600 with 104.16 lbs.)
4th: Paul Gourley (101.38 pounds)
5th: Jonathan Massey (99.40 pounds)
6th: Kyle Dixon (98.87 pounds)
7th: Binh Nguyen/Bruce Daniels Jr. (95.61 pounds)
8th: Rusty Blankenship (90.36 pounds)
9th: Team Bubba Key (90.06 pounds)
10th: Johnson’s Juice (88.16 pounds)
Big Catfish: Binh Nguyen/Bruce Daniels Jr. ($900 with 34.79 lbs.)
Big Gar: Sonny Mayfield ($520 with 16.44 lbs.
The 6th annual Fishing For Salvation tournament raised $7200 for 30-30. As always, this tournament won’t roll without the hard work and support of Jonathon & Kelley West.
The 30-30 Guide Shack
Huntin’ & Fishin’ Tips At 30-30 Camp
In addition to pouring into our Campers spiritually, we enjoy sharing nuggets of hunting and fishing information with them. Here's a great video on how to clean big catfish.
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