Headland’s Andrew Davis signs to compete for Troy Bass Team

“I was just a pond fisherman, and I saw that there was a bass team and me and my mom talked to the coach at the time, who was Gina Burdeshaw, and she said, ‘Yeah, come on to tryouts,’” Davis remembers.

Davis had previously just fished for catfish and bream, but the world of bass fishing would begin a new interest and open new doors for him.

The culmination of six years on the team paid off greatly on Tuesday when Davis signed a scholarship to attend Troy University and will be part of the Troy Bass Fishing Team, which is a club sport on campus.

“They give out a bunch of scholarships through the tournament trails we fish,” Davis explained. “Whenever I was approached about having a scholarship through Troy … I had a couple of scholarships through some other schools, but really Troy felt like a better fit, like a home.

“There are a lot of people there I really relate to better. A lot of people from the South growing up fishing the way I did, so I figured that was the best option for me and felt really accepted there.”

His girlfriend and former Headland Bass Team member, Gracie Herbold, is also a freshman on the Troy team this year.

“She’s the one who actually got me into going to Troy,” Davis said with a grin.

While he’s become an elite high school fisherman, it didn’t come easy at first. There are two anglers per boat in high school tournaments and he bounced around with different partners in the beginning.

“In the first tournament, we didn’t catch a fish,” Davis said. “We didn’t catch a fish until probably our fourth or fifth tournament and then we started to figure it out.”

Davis has continued to work hard at his craft.

“There is a lot to it,” Davis said. “Fish do different things all throughout the year. Sometimes they’re spawning and sometimes they’re out deep, 30 feet or more.

“Last weekend up in Kentucky, they were there on beds and some out 100 feet. They are all over the place, so you just have to key in on a certain pattern that you want to fish throughout the week.”

There are also obviously ups and downs. Davis and his fishing partner this year, Asher Peters, had high hopes after a practice round last weekend in the Kentucky tournament.

“We were really keying in on some spawning fish and we were looking on the banks, watching fish swim around us,” Davis explained. “We would throw over there to them and we were catching them just like that.”

So how did the team do throughout the competition?

“We actually struggled in this tournament,” he said. “During practice we had some pretty good fish, but the weather conditions changed on us and it really bit us in the butt.”

Evan Rice, the president of the Troy Bass Fishing Team, believes Davis will be a big contributor.

“We’ve got this bass team that started years ago and we’re finally making our way up there and trying to make a name for ourselves, and Andrew is going to help us do that,” Rice said. “I really love the way Andrew fishes. He’s going to bring a lot to the team.”

Shannon Smith, the Headland coach, is also the mother of Davis and was somewhat emotional at times during the signing.

“I’m so ridiculously proud of Andrew,” she said. “I’ve watched him grow, and not just in the sport, but I’ve watched him mature into the person that he is today. I’ve watched him absolutely lay everything out there, do everything right, and still fail and get back up and do it again.

“I’ve had the great honor of being able to sit front and center and watch that in his development. I’m extremely grateful that I have been allowed to be a part of this journey that he is on.”

She is also proud to be part of the Headland Bass Team family.

“I first and foremost want to thank the school,” Smith said. “The Headland Bass Team wouldn’t be able to do the things that we do if it wasn’t for the association with Headland High School.

“We’re excited to see what Andrew is going to do at Troy. I think he’s worked really hard for this moment to be able to move forward and fish at a higher level.”