[nehlz]

I have been looking into building a new BT as my next skiff, after hearing lots of good things and visiting their facility.

Looking hard at the Micro and Mosquito.

I have spent a fair amount of time on my buddy's Gordon Waterman 18 side console with yammy f70, and have always been impressed with it.

I still have not had the opportunity to run the Mosquito so I am looking to hear from people who have ran both the 18 waterman and mosquito - what are the most notable differences?

Does the mosquito "feel" smaller or are they very close?

How does it perform in a solo fly fishing scenario, fishing from poling platform with pushpole? ( I would add weight to the bow in that case ) I know it excels with 2 people but the majority of the time I am by myself if I fish during the week.

Looking to get out on one soon in the east coast IRL / Banana /mosquito lagoon area, or the west coast sarasota/longboat key area. Let me know if any of you mosquito owners want to get poled around for a day. (Expenses covered of course).

Thanks,

-Stephen

 

[CPurvis]

I don't own a mosquito but I have had some platform time on one and I can say it poles very well. I was very impressed on how easy it poles and tracks. I fish a much smaller and lighter skiff and the mosquito poled effortlessly. Not sure about the Micro just my 2cents on the mosquito.

 

[nehlz]

I don't own a mosquito but I have had some platform time on one and I can say it poles very well. I was very impressed on how easy it poles and tracks. I fish a much smaller and lighter skiff and the mosquito poled effortlessly. Not sure about the Micro just my 2cents on the mosquito.

Thanks for the input. Did she spin well?

Also wanted to hear feedback from anyone who has fished one oceanside or in the gulf for poons in decent favorable conditions. I know it is not the ideal skiff for that, it would only be something I get to do a few weeks a year.

 

[Zika]

Haven't fished the Waterman, but I have owned a BT Micro and currently own a side console Mosquito. Two entirely different critters. I would have skipped the Micro if I had known the Mosquito was in the works.

Will second the Mosquito's poling characteristics. Quiet, tracks straight and spins easily. I usually fish alone or with a large dog and he's not the best for balancing the load.

I also fish mine for tarpon in the Big Bend Gulf in open water. Although it's not the same as my former battlewagon Bayshore, it does well. Fished for 5 hours yesterday and when the sea breeze chop picked up and the fish fizzled, I packed it in and went to the hill. Very little slap and noise on the hook though. I had several fish swim right up to the boat before spooking off.

 

[nehlz]

Haven't fished the Waterman, but I have owned a BT Micro and currently own a side console Mosquito. Two entirely different critters. I would have skipped the Micro if I had known the Mosquito was in the works.

Will second the Mosquito's poling characteristics. Quiet, tracks straight and spins easily. I usually fish alone or with a large dog and he's not the best for balancing the load.

I also fish mine for tarpon in the Big Bend Gulf in open water. Although it's not the same as my former battlewagon Bayshore, it does well. Fished for 5 hours yesterday and when the sea breeze chop picked up and the fish fizzled, I packed it in and went to the hill. Very little slap and noise on the hook though. I had several fish swim right up to the boat before spooking off.

Sweet. I'm not looking for something that can fish day in day out off the beach. Just when the conditions are prime.

Thanks for the response

 

[CPurvis]

Thanks for the input. Did she spin well?

Also wanted to hear feedback from anyone who has fished one oceanside or in the gulf for poons in decent favorable conditions. I know it is not the ideal skiff for that, it would only be something I get to do a few weeks a year.

Yes it poled well in all aspects. Oceanside would be ok in calm conditions the deck is very low to the water so you would definitely keep an eye on the wind.

 

[Zika]

Talk to Capt. Eric at BT. He runs a Mosquito with Zuke power and I'm sure he can arrange a test ride.

You can also do a search on here. Lots of happy owners.

 

[Guest]

How had this not gone 20-30 pages already? Fanboys are slackin!

 

[nehlz]

How had this not gone 20-30 pages already? Fanboys are slackin!

I was thinking the same thing

 

[nehlz]

Talk to Capt. Eric at BT. He runs a Mosquito with Zuke power and I'm sure he can arrange a test ride.

You can also do a search on here. Lots of happy owners.

Thanks for the recommendation. I met with him at the factory. Good guy.

 

[HelthInsXpert]

Is a fanboy someone who owns either of these brands? Or just Hells Bay owners?

 

[flyclimber]

I've been on a waterman I thought was pretty slick. However it was way before I knew anything involving skiffs. I can say I know a little bit more now? Can't speak too much more than that. Do I get fan boy status?

 

[Matts]

I had a Mosquito and it poles nicely, for the most part. I measured it's draft fore and aft with 2, 185# men and a 100# teen with 1/2 tank of gas and very little else on board and found 8" water was where it started rubbing. I could still push it off without anyone exiting but the keel hit bottom every time. I'm not sure I measured it correctly but basically, on hard sand bottom, we were just getting stuck at 8" (used tape measure). I have a friend with a Gordon Waterman and I do think the Waterman hull fishes slightly wider than the Mosquito and is a bit more stable. I love BT's quality and customer service but I think the Waterman is a more stable hull. If you look at the bow entry, the Waterman ends up with more skiff in the water in the front and I think that translates into more stability on the poling platform as people moving in the front end make it tippy. All you have to do is move that person back towards the cockpit a bit and problem mostly solved. The primary reason I sold my Mosquito is I found it quite crowded and tippy when I had my 2 teens and wife on board. Recognize, that's not what the skiff is intended to do but it is rated for 4 and we only total 475#, which is under the weight restriction. The Mosquito poles and tracks very nicely and that's one of it's strengths. However, it's a very weight sensitive hull and you have to keep weight out of the aft compartments or it will squat with a 60hp Suzuki. I personally think for as narrow as the aft end is, they are overpowering these skiffs with a 20" shaft 4s. It's just too much motor if you fish REALLY shallow like I do in middle to lower coast TX. The up side to all this increased V in the Mosquito is that it handles big water much more smoothly than what I've seen on the lighter (2006 Gordon Waterman is lighter than current HB Waterman, I believe) Gordon Waterman. On a positive note, I was recently on a trip where I fished with Flip Pallot on a Mosquito and he poled it for some time. He, of course, is very partial to the Waterman but had lots of great things to say about the Mosquito. It's really a great skiff for the money and if you are usually fishing two people and don't need to draft a true 5-6", you will be fine with a Mosquito. I can honestly say I got caught at the mouth of Baffin in true 2' waves and the Mosquito handled it like a champ. I would have rather been in that skiff that day than a Waterman but that was a rough, rough day. I did have to run it about 20mph and hang on for dear life but it got me through it nicely, albeit soaking wet but any skiff would have been wet. I would love to see the Mosquito with a 50 or 60hp 15" shaft to see if that works better for TX. I had mine rigged with a Micro Shaw Wing Cav Plate, Foreman heavy cupped prop and had the engine raised on my jack plate. On poling, I didn't care for the sponsons and narrower aft end of the Mosquito as with my being tall and 185#, it would sometimes dig in on one sponson as I tried to pole, especially if the wind was rocking the hull. This may similar with the Waterman, but I think the aft end is wider, which will prevent some pole-related squatting. My next skiff will not have sponsons. Period. The other thing about my Mosquito was that it had a power pole and center console so it would be better to have been more stripped down (bought it used and never did strip it). The Mosquito is absolutely a fine craft and for a sub $40K skiff, it will be hard to beat. I think the hull is not perfect for TX based on all that V and the aft end width, but if you find yourself in bigger water, not so bad.
Best,
Matt

 

[Captjp]

I have been looking into building a new BT as my next skiff, after hearing lots of good things and visiting their facility.

Looking hard at the Micro and Mosquito.

I have spent a fair amount of time on my buddy's Gordon Waterman 18 side console with yammy f70, and have always been impressed with it.

I still have not had the opportunity to run the Mosquito so I am looking to hear from people who have ran both the 18 waterman and mosquito - what are the most notable differences?

Does the mosquito "feel" smaller or are they very close?

How does it perform in a solo fly fishing scenario, fishing from poling platform with pushpole? ( I would add weight to the bow in that case ) I know it excels with 2 people but the majority of the time I am by myself if I fish during the week.

Looking to get out on one soon in the east coast IRL / Banana /mosquito lagoon area, or the west coast sarasota/longboat key area. Let me know if any of you mosquito owners want to get poled around for a day. (Expenses covered of course).

Thanks,

-Stephen

I have one of each but to be fair the Waterman is an older version which are hard to find. The BT will not be as stable but will take a chop better. BT harder to pole if any wind as too much hull out of the water and heavier. If you can find a Gordon I would buy it. I also have not been in a new Waterman but the advertised weight is a negative to me and the BT advertised weight I think is optimistic. If they would build a bit lighter I think it would perform better. This is my second HB due to the first one hitting a piling and it took me 2 years to find a replacement, I was looking for an older version and am currently in refurb mode. The BT has a Suzuki 60 and in my opinion could use a bit more power but I admit to not playing with props very much. I guide in Louisiana and the BT is okay but it's being sold and I'll finish my guiding career in the HB. The HB just floats shallower and is more stable and has more storage. One big negative on the BT is access to the rear like if you need to get to any wiring behind the 2 rear compartments. Mine was one of the early ones and they put an access hatch only on one compartment and of course I needed to get to the other side. I wound up putting a matching access plate on the other side. Still very tight to get to bilge pump or any other wiring. Also very hard to get to back of sponson if need to install power pole or un-install, you actually can't reach it. The BT served the purpose and the price was right but the older HB is just better for what I do.