A chance connection plus an early glimpse of future opportunities put her on a course to a demanding, yet deeply rewarding role with far-reaching impact. Now, every day is a new chance to define dedication and pursue a purpose-driven professionalism.
Meet Bassmaster PR/Communications Manager Mandy Pascal. Immediately recognizable with her brilliant red hair and megawatt smile, she has a hand in some of the company’s most critical operations and it’s hard to imagine anyone more well-suited for the role.
Describing her job, Pascal said: “I’m the liaison for communicating information from inside B.A.S.S. to the outside world. That includes interacting with the media members, a lot of communication to the anglers, all the press releases that I write and coordinating freelance writers.
“I manage all tournament coverage for 58 tournaments a year and I work closely with local media at all the Elite events. I try to get news stations, newspapers, websites and radio shows to come out and cover the event.”
Coordinating a massive messaging mission, hers is a very full plate.
“The biggest challenge for me is the workload, because I’m a department of one,” Pascal chuckled. “Organization is the key in this job. Whether it be contacts you’ve made that you’ll end up needing down the line, or managing important documents.
“Deadlines are very important when you have 58 tournaments a year, you can’t forget little things like a preview that has to go out the week before an event. All the little nooks and crannies of the job were a bit overwhelming at first, but they’re all so important, so I just try not to drop the ball somewhere.”
The demands are high, but the motivation is clear.
“I care so much about the job and the anglers; just making sure they’re taken care of and given the best opportunities to showcase them in the best light,” Pascal said. “And I just really enjoy working with the families. One of my favorite parts of tournaments is all the kids that like to come to me to get snacks and seeing how they light up.
“A job has become part of a family. That includes the staff members, the CTAs, the volunteers, the event hosts that we work with. A lot of times, you create lifelong friendships.”
A Connection Made
Interestingly, Mandy was born and raised in Montgomery, Ala., the city where Ray Scott founded B.A.S.S., but the organization had never crossed her radar until 2015. That’s when she received her Bachelor’s degree in Print Journalism from Troy University.
“l was looking for magazine jobs and a lady in my parents’ Sunday School class recommended that I apply for an editorial assistant position at B.A.S.S.,” Pascal said. “I just started looking into the company and I was like, ‘This sounds pretty cool.’ And the rest was history.”
Dave Precht, at the time serving as Vice President of Publications and Communications, hired Pascal in June 2015. Within her first two years, introductory exposure to the Communications side sparked an interest that would come to fruition nearly a decade later.
Along the way, Pascal learned to love the sport around which her career has revolved. A gymnast in her youth, she brought little fishing experience to the job, but when you work around the sport’s top competitors and co-workers willing to teach, proficiency is inevitable.
“B.A.S.S. Digital Content Editor Laura Ann Butts (a former collegiate angler) taught me and B.A.S.S. Social Media Manager Laura Agee to fish with Rat-L-Traps,” Pascal said. “The three of us recently had a girls day on the water and Laura Ann also taught me how to throw a baitcaster. It only took 11 years, but I can say I can do it.”
The Job
Now, if you think mastering the baitcaster is challenging, consider the cat-herding operation that is modern communications. There’s not a lot of coast time, but with her engaging people skills, an infectious positivity and what is clearly a deep-seeded determination, Pascal makes it look as easy as Jason Christie skipping docks.
Noting that she’s a point person in many scenarios, Pascal regularly interacts with anglers seeking information and guidance. Nowhere is that more critical than the fishing industry’s grandest event — the Bassmaster Classic.
The 2026 event in Knoxville, Tenn., saw 437 credentialed media representatives — the largest number to date. Complementing the domestic organizations, Pascal coordinated with print, broadcast and digital media from Japan, China, Canada, Italy and Australia.
“The one thing I have learned is the love for bass fishing is not restrained within the walls of the United States,” Pascal said. “It’s cool seeing how passionate people are in other countries and wanting to come to the U.S. to cover this sport.
“I know a lot of the international media people that I work with are eaten up with bass fishing. I’ve formed a lot of friendships with these guys over the years and just seeing how much they also eat, breathe and sleep bass fishing is really cool.”
Now, how ‘bout a Q&A round?
Q: What do you most enjoy seeing with your media interactions?
A: “Especially at the Elite tournaments, it’s getting them on the water to see competition firsthand. So many journalists, especially local media, know very little about fishing. They’ve just been assigned to this story.
“You can describe a tournament to them all day long, but after getting to see it up close and personal, they come off the water and nine times out of 10, they’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, I hope I’m able to come back out here later this weekend.’
“Also, if a media person needs an interview with one of the anglers, the fact that we’re able to pair them up and get that face-to-face interaction when the angler comes off the stage is kinda cool, too.”
Q: What do you consider the most memorable moments you’ve experienced?
A: “Getting to be with the family the moment a Classic or Elite champion is crowned and seeing that firsthand emotion. I get to bring the family to them so they get to see their (husband/father) lift the trophy. I’ll take the family backstage and wait for Bassmaster Emcee Dave Mercer to cue them out.
“Waiting backstage, I’ll help the wives make sure their makeup still looks good or their hair is okay before they go out on stage. It’s a life-changing moment for so many of them.”
Q: You invest a lot of time and attention to making sure the Elite anglers’ kids are welcome at the weigh-ins. What is the source of that commitment?
A: “I just love seeing kids raised around this industry that love the outdoors. If you look at any of those kids backstage, you don’t see them glued to their iPad or cellphone. They’re running around, chasing each other and playing in the dirt.
“I think the wives do such a great job of coming up with activities so the kids are growing up the way that a lot of kids don’t have the opportunity to. And I think it’s really cool getting to see that.”
Q: What has been your most meaningful accomplishment with B.A.S.S.?
A: “My biggest accomplishment is our St. Jude partnership and the Love Bass, Stop Cancer campaign. We officially launched it at the Classic this year, but we did a soft launch at the Lake Guntersville Elite tournament. Just seeing the angler’s reception to this made the three years that I, Gretchen Simon and Katie Cummings (from St. Jude) had been working on this project so worth it.
“I think it’s going to make such an impact in the long run. We have tons of plans we hope to implement in the next few years, so I see this being a long-lasting partnership. If you get the industry support behind you on something they are passionate about, they can move mountains.”
Q: What has kept you interested in the bass fishing world?
A: “Seeing how it is constantly evolving. When I first came into the industry, I had no idea how big it was and how passionate people are about it.
“We can become accustomed to it because we do it every single day and most weekends, but when you go to new locations and see how excited people are about the industry, about getting to meet their favorite angler, that has made me fall deeper and deeper in love with it.”
Q: What’s your advice to women who may be interested in participation and/or careers in the fishing industry?
A: “I think my best piece of advice is: Don’t give up. Don’t let the outside world and the chatter drag you down. At the end of the day, women can bring just as much to the table in a male-dominated industry.
“I think BassmastHER Ambassador Kristine Fisher is living proof of that. Winning the Bassmaster Kayak Series event at Lake Tenkiller last year and coming so close to making the Top 10 in this year’s Bassmaster Open at Grand Lake was amazing.
“I think we have some phenomenal ambassadors in the BassmastHER program, so I’d encourage young girls to get to know them. These are wonderful role models and they are doing things the right way.
“Ultimately, I’d just echo, don’t give up. And don’t be afraid to take risks, because it’s intimating. Jumping into a sport that is so male-dominated you might think: ‘What if I don’t do it as well as the boys?’
“But that’s okay. There are other ways to do things and it takes risks to be able to find that out.”
