If you’ve engaged with Yamaha’s Blue Life, website, blog, or Saltwater Playbook videos, you have likely seen Captain George Mitchell discussing saltwater fishing and praising Yamaha outboards and control systems. But there is much more to George’s story and his long association with Yamaha and it is an interesting story about a very accomplished man.
George has been a life-long saltwater fisherman and a charter captain, tournament competitor and guide for almost forty years. He is an innovative guy who is responsible for many techniques used by saltwater anglers today and a fabulous teacher with decades of knowledge to pass along, something he does regularly as Yamaha’s in-house saltwater fishing guru.
Mitchell grew up in Key Largo, Florida where he was fishing for king mackerel as a hook and line commercial fisherman and charter captain from an early age. He competed in the SKA tournament trail for over twenty years with a team that included his son Eddie as the junior angler. Sponsored by Yamaha, they won eleven tournaments in their first three years on the trail and Eddie still holds the junior angler record for the largest kingfish with a 62.8-pound smoker. George moved to Jupiter in 2013 and his popularity as an accomplished charter captain followed him there. He put his charter clients on sailfish, mahi, kings, grouper, snapper, redfish, the whole spectrum of gamefish found on the central Florida coast as his reputation grew. For a few months each year he would tow his boat to saltwater fishing’s equivalent of Mecca, Venice, Louisiana, and charter for the tuna and wahoo found there. Most recently, George and his wife Lexie have resided in a small town near Port St. Joe on the Florida panhandle.
George loves boats and over the years he has owned a succession of large center consoles by some of the most famous tournament boat builders. All powered by Yamaha outboards and all wrapped in Yamaha colors and logos. His massive diesel Renegade RV® hauler was wrapped to match so when he was driving to and from tournaments his rig was a traveling Yamaha billboard. Some years he would rack up 50,000 miles going to tournaments and Yamaha special events throughout the south and as far west as California.
George was a successful and highly regarded tournament captain and angler respected by his peers for his openness, willingness to help his fellow competitors and for always putting on a good show. The barbeques he frequently hosted alongside the hauler at tournament venues were a frequent gathering place where he was always ready to talk fishing and Yamaha outboards with the parade of fishermen who would come to see him at events. He is still as helpful and quick to share information as ever and he does so on a variety of platforms in addition to in person settings.
“George already had a history with Yamaha when I joined the company in 2000,” recalled Frank Wilhelm, Yamaha advertising and marketing director. “I met him in 2001 at the Miami International Boat Show® and remember he was involved with Florida Sportsman® magazine and their radio program. I would call that period of our relationship a Pro Staff or Pro Fishing sponsorship as he was actively fishing the SKA tournament trail and guiding for a host of high-profile clients. I was introduced to Frank at the Ocean Reef Club in the Keys and was told that if you cut George, he would bleed Yamaha blue—back then Yamaha’s logo was PMS185 blue. All these years later that sentiment remains true. George has always been a huge fan of Yamaha outboards and instrumental in helping brainstorm some of the amazing technologies we’ve incorporated into our product line like the incredibly popular Helm Master® EX digital electronic helm system”.
Frank told us that along with his fishing pursuits, George attended countless boat shows, photo shoots, product demo days and he has also been heavily involved in developing instructional videos and marketing materials to help inform and educate customers on the advantages of Yamaha outboards and control systems. Many of the nuanced capabilities incorporated into the Helm Master system were developed as a direct result of George working with technicians and programmers explaining to them how they would benefit fishermen and the general boating public. Then he would test the systems on his own boat, bring those technicians out on the water to show them how their creations worked in real-world applications while discussing how they could be tweaked to improve their performance.
Over the last ten years, George has been involved in a TV project called Yamaha Saltwater Playbook, a series of short vignette style programs dedicated to helping anglers target specific saltwater gamefish and become better anglers and boaters through practical tips resulting from his years of experience. Each season he creates thirteen new segments that air on the Sportsman’s Channel and other networks. They are also available through Yamaha’s social media channels and Blue Life blogs.
“Trying to pin down George with a title is not easy,” Wilhelm said with a smile. “He’s done so many different things over the years he transcends a single job description. He has been a Yamaha-sponsored Pro Tournament Angler, Professional Charter Captain, Field Staff, Technical Advisor, Demo Tour Captain, Product Field Tester, Social Media Content Creator and on and on.”
Just when you think you might have George pigeonholed, he surprises you with a new facet of his abilities and expands his contributions to all things Yamaha. On top of that he is one of the nicest human beings you will ever encounter and to spend time on the water with if you get the opportunity. He is the ultimate ambassador for the Yamaha brand.
“When you put it all together,” Wilhelm concluded, “George Mitchell is most definitely Yamaha’s saltwater fishing guru.”
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George has been a life-long saltwater fisherman and a charter captain, tournament competitor and guide for almost forty years. He is an innovative guy who is responsible for many techniques used by saltwater anglers today and a fabulous teacher with decades of knowledge to pass along, something he does regularly as Yamaha’s in-house saltwater fishing guru.
Mitchell grew up in Key Largo, Florida where he was fishing for king mackerel as a hook and line commercial fisherman and charter captain from an early age. He competed in the SKA tournament trail for over twenty years with a team that included his son Eddie as the junior angler. Sponsored by Yamaha, they won eleven tournaments in their first three years on the trail and Eddie still holds the junior angler record for the largest kingfish with a 62.8-pound smoker. George moved to Jupiter in 2013 and his popularity as an accomplished charter captain followed him there. He put his charter clients on sailfish, mahi, kings, grouper, snapper, redfish, the whole spectrum of gamefish found on the central Florida coast as his reputation grew. For a few months each year he would tow his boat to saltwater fishing’s equivalent of Mecca, Venice, Louisiana, and charter for the tuna and wahoo found there. Most recently, George and his wife Lexie have resided in a small town near Port St. Joe on the Florida panhandle.
George loves boats and over the years he has owned a succession of large center consoles by some of the most famous tournament boat builders. All powered by Yamaha outboards and all wrapped in Yamaha colors and logos. His massive diesel Renegade RV® hauler was wrapped to match so when he was driving to and from tournaments his rig was a traveling Yamaha billboard. Some years he would rack up 50,000 miles going to tournaments and Yamaha special events throughout the south and as far west as California.
George was a successful and highly regarded tournament captain and angler respected by his peers for his openness, willingness to help his fellow competitors and for always putting on a good show. The barbeques he frequently hosted alongside the hauler at tournament venues were a frequent gathering place where he was always ready to talk fishing and Yamaha outboards with the parade of fishermen who would come to see him at events. He is still as helpful and quick to share information as ever and he does so on a variety of platforms in addition to in person settings.
“George already had a history with Yamaha when I joined the company in 2000,” recalled Frank Wilhelm, Yamaha advertising and marketing director. “I met him in 2001 at the Miami International Boat Show® and remember he was involved with Florida Sportsman® magazine and their radio program. I would call that period of our relationship a Pro Staff or Pro Fishing sponsorship as he was actively fishing the SKA tournament trail and guiding for a host of high-profile clients. I was introduced to Frank at the Ocean Reef Club in the Keys and was told that if you cut George, he would bleed Yamaha blue—back then Yamaha’s logo was PMS185 blue. All these years later that sentiment remains true. George has always been a huge fan of Yamaha outboards and instrumental in helping brainstorm some of the amazing technologies we’ve incorporated into our product line like the incredibly popular Helm Master® EX digital electronic helm system”.
Frank told us that along with his fishing pursuits, George attended countless boat shows, photo shoots, product demo days and he has also been heavily involved in developing instructional videos and marketing materials to help inform and educate customers on the advantages of Yamaha outboards and control systems. Many of the nuanced capabilities incorporated into the Helm Master system were developed as a direct result of George working with technicians and programmers explaining to them how they would benefit fishermen and the general boating public. Then he would test the systems on his own boat, bring those technicians out on the water to show them how their creations worked in real-world applications while discussing how they could be tweaked to improve their performance.
Over the last ten years, George has been involved in a TV project called Yamaha Saltwater Playbook, a series of short vignette style programs dedicated to helping anglers target specific saltwater gamefish and become better anglers and boaters through practical tips resulting from his years of experience. Each season he creates thirteen new segments that air on the Sportsman’s Channel and other networks. They are also available through Yamaha’s social media channels and Blue Life blogs.
“Trying to pin down George with a title is not easy,” Wilhelm said with a smile. “He’s done so many different things over the years he transcends a single job description. He has been a Yamaha-sponsored Pro Tournament Angler, Professional Charter Captain, Field Staff, Technical Advisor, Demo Tour Captain, Product Field Tester, Social Media Content Creator and on and on.”
Just when you think you might have George pigeonholed, he surprises you with a new facet of his abilities and expands his contributions to all things Yamaha. On top of that he is one of the nicest human beings you will ever encounter and to spend time on the water with if you get the opportunity. He is the ultimate ambassador for the Yamaha brand.
“When you put it all together,” Wilhelm concluded, “George Mitchell is most definitely Yamaha’s saltwater fishing guru.”
Back to Blue Life