Chatterbaits and children, this mom gets bit!

A lady that’ll pack you a lunch, and put 5 in the boat. Our favorite mom.

Meet Melinda Hays, a full-time mom, marketer, and our in-house freshwater fishing mogul. She runs our bass marketing and could run up a check at your local fishing derby.

What she does

Melinda manages all our freshwater pros, hosts tournaments around the country, and is the top talent scout (if you will) when it comes to professional bass fishing. She’s won boats, tournaments, and our seal of approval with her non-stop dream-chasin’ attitude. When she’s not boat flippin’ big ones, she’s running the scales and preaching the gospel of fishing to youth anglers across the country.

For Melinda, bass fishing is a family deal. It should be. Her mom was a professional bass tournament angler that at one time supported her dad as a professional bass fisherman. So big ups for mom is just a part of the family credo. Live the dream, cut a wide path while ripping some lips and bring more families to the sport. That’s the Hays way.

What she brings

Melinda has always been focused on the youth, the next generation of anglers, and the future of fishing. She’s always bringing new kids into the fold here at Bajío. She’s got an eye for it, helping us outfit legends in the making like Trey McKinney and Drew Gill.

What she wears

Melinda’s always on the move and opts for our most versatile frames. For shades that can go from a parent-teacher conference to a team tourney on Toho, Melinda opts for Calda, Soldado, and Eldora. All three of these frames fit small and fish well, with our proprietary LAPIS™ lens tech. Her favorite lenses include our Rose and Violet Mirrors, specifically for shallow water bed fishing.

She’s also fond of our hooded sweatshirts. She rocks them all—pelican, island crab and tarpon. So don’t be surprised to see a pink or white hoodie zip by during the morning check-out or a largemouth patch or crawfish hat blistering through the weeds. You’ll know when she’s bit because her laugh is infectious. If she laughs a bunch, you better hope she’s late to the weigh-in.

All Bajío products are made from scratch; designed and assembled in New Smyrna Beach, FL by people who believe in their work and take quality personally.