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West Point Lake with host the 2024 Striped Bass Challenge “Battle at the Border” Fishing Tournament this weekend.

The tournament boasts guaranteed payouts for first place with the largest fish prize and women and youth categories.

The tournament is part of the national Striped Bass Challenge, but the accompanying Captain’s Dinner offers an annual fundraiser to support the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes Camp Pineland.

This event will be held in conjunction with the fishing tournament being held on West Point Lake in LaGrange on April 5-6.

The Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes is a 501c3 charity and all funds raised from the captains’ dinner and raffle go to help children at the Pineland campus.

“The children we serve come to us through no fault of their own. They are abused, abandoned or neglected. These are not adjudicated delinquents,” said Shayne Goddard, Director of Development, Property and Facilities for Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes, Inc.

Goddard said the fishing tournament itself isn’t the fundraiser; it’s the Captains Dinner.

“We only get [funds] from the captain’s dinner but the captain’s dinner wouldn’t happen without the tournament,” Goddard said.

This is the second year the Georgia Sheriffs’ Youth Homes have hosted the dinner, which will be held at Camp Pineland. Goddard said they plan on hosting the dinner as long as the tournament comes to West Point Lake.

Goddard said they plan to give away around $20,000 worth of raffle prizes during the dinner that were donated by companies to support Camp Pineland.

“The money will help out with our summer camp programs,” Goddard said. “We don’t fully cover the cost of the kids coming into camp with what charge them. It will help with that. And then it’ll help with the little extra things like this year we plan on replacing canoes.”

“From time to time we have an air conditioner that may go out so it’s really good to help us handle unexpected expenses,” he said.