Earlier this year, Bridget Fabel, a well known hunter/fisherwoman on YouTube and Instagram, announced that she had started her own fly fishing guiding service near the town of Torrey, Utah. Paying tribute for her love of catching huge, chunky trout, she named her service Chunky Trout Outfitters, and is currently the only women owned and operated fly fishing guide service in the state of Utah. I shared her announcement on our insta story and mentioned how awesome it would be to do a Rocky Mountain Sportswomen trip with her. To my surprise, she enthusiastically invited us to come out with her, and I couldn’t help but “fangirl” over it. I was determined to make it happen.
Day 1- September 6th, 2019
After a headache of planning and preparation, our inaugural Rocky Mountain Sportswomen fly fishing trip to Utah with Chunky Trout Outfitters was finally here. Our participants included myself (Elena), Caitlin, Rachel, and Julia. We couldn’t have been more excited for this trip since we were all pretty new to the fly fishing game, and were itching for a weekend getaway. A couple of us didn’t know each other at all, but as soon as we all met up at Rachel’s house, we knew this was going to be an amazing trip, and that we would be great friends by the end of it. We loaded up Rachel’s Tacoma, and hit the road to Utah. I don’t think there was a single moment of silence for the entire 6 hour trip between all of our chitter chatter, laughter, and music jams.
Personally, this was my very first trip to Utah, even though I’ve lived in it’s neighboring state of Colorado for about 6 years. I couldn’t wait to see the giant red rocks in person, and feel the dryness of the desert. We took a quick pit stop after crossing the border and felt obliged to take a group photo with the “Welcome to Utah” sign. An adorable old man took our photo for us in exchange for a photo of him and his wife in front of the sign. It took a few tries, for his finger kept getting in the way of the lens. Classic old man move.
As we took the Southbound turn towards Torrey from I70, we began to really feel the Utah desert vibes. After a few hours, we began to cruise through the famous Capitol Reef National Park. The late afternoon light was beautiful against the red rock, and we were just in awe of the beauty and diversity of the terrain. We decided to take a spur of the moment pull-off and check out the ancient petroglyphs. Created by ancient Native Americans dating back to AD 600 to 1300, these petroglyphs were carved to represent various stories, people, and information the natives wanted to pass down through generations. It was fascinating to see some of this art that has been around for thousands of years. It was well worth the stop.
We finally rolled into Torrey, and we headed into Dixie National Forest to set up our campsite for the weekend. Not too far into the forest, we found the perfect, secluded site with lots of spaced out trees and a short drive to the little town of Torrey. We set up camp, gathered wood for a fire, cracked a couple beers, and started cooking a delicious spaghetti dinner. After chowing down, we sat by the fire continuously chatting with excitement for the next day, and forced ourselves to bundle up in our tents and get some sleep.
Day 2- September 7th, 2019
After a wonderful night’s sleep under the stars with perfect camping weather, we got out of our tents and began heating water for our instant coffee. Julia informed us that she had heard a large hooved animal walk right next to her tent in the middle of the night! With some investigating, we ended up finding fresh moose tracks going right through our campsite! We were all pretty amazed, and thought about all the what ifs.
Since we weren’t meeting Bridget until later that afternoon we took our time getting ready and made a delicious breakfast of Kodiak Cakes, bacon, and berries to get fueled up for the day. After breakfast, we tidied up camp, loaded up our day packs and fishing gear, and headed back into to Torrey with a mission to obtain our fishing licenses. We thought it would be fun to just purchase them from a local shop in the area, but after checking a few places, they all mentioned to just do it online. We ended up in the cute little coffee shop called Wild Rabbit Cafe, got some coffees and logged onto the internet to purchase our licenses. Julia, like a responsible adult, had already bought hers and had to wait for us procrastinators to get it done.
After this task was completed, we headed back into the Capitol Reef National Park, and hiked along the Grand Wash trail. While soaking up as much sun as possible, we hiked along this easy trail for a pretty good distance. We were in love with the height of the beautiful red rock surrounding us, and stopped in little holes and inlets along the way. It was so fun to be able to explore a little bit of Utah before our fishing trip really began. Fueled by Altitude Snacks and Sweetwood Smokehouse meat snacks, like the smoked meat sticks and turkey jerky, we spent a few hours in this gorgeous canyon, and ended up walking close to 4 miles or so.
When we got back to Rachel’s truck, we decided to find another cool spot to hang out and make some sandwiches for lunch. Looking at the map, we found a little dirt road detour on our way back towards Torrey. We decided to check it out and ended up coming across a nice little creek where we could cool off, and bask ourselves in enriching, muddy minerals. We regained strength after some tasty sandwiches and snacks, and headed back towards Torrey to finally meet up with Bridget for our evening fishing session.
Before meeting the infamous Bridget Fabel, the excitement hit us again, and the butterflies in my stomach began to flutter. I was thrilled that I was about to meet one of my idols of the hunting and fishing world, and couldn’t wait to get to know her. She rolled up in her big, white Ford F150, and greeted us with a big smile. We loaded up in her truck and headed out to our first fishing spot of the weekend, wasting no time at all. After a little bit of a drive to a reservoir in a nearby National Forest, we took a turn onto a steep dirt road to park and walk down to the stream that was pouring out of the lake. Bridget was so friendly, and we knew we were all going to have a great time together. She helped us rig up our rods, and me being the only one without my own, Bridget let me use hers. We walked down the short, steep trail to the stream, and found ourselves to be the only ones in the spot.
She started us off by taking us one at a time to get a fish on. Being the coordinator of the trip, the other girls made me be the first one in line. Prior to this trip, I had only successfully caught one little brookie on a fly rod. After only a few casts into a little hole, Bridget yelled, “set!” I set the hook and ended up catching a beautiful little tiger trout! I was so surprised at how quickly I had caught one, and was amazed by the beautiful colors and patterns of this fish. Tiger trout are a hybrid between brown trout and brook trout, and are a sterile species. After letting this little guy go, it was time for the next lady in line, Caitlin.
Caitlin loves fishing. She started off with spin rod fishing at our local reservoirs near Steamboat Springs, and really took onto ice fishing. She is always getting out there and seems to always catch something when I go with her. It wasn’t until this last summer that she invested in her own fly fishing gear, and started learning the ropes. Bridget moved her upstream to a different hole, and ended up flinging a little guy out of the water and directly behind her onto the ground. It was a pretty funny moment, and we were excited to have already been catching some fish so early into the evening.
Next, was Julia. Julia began fly fishing with her boyfriend, who is an avid fisherman, but had expressed the struggle of not being able to catch much. Bridget brought her even further upstream into another little hole, where you could even see the fish swimming around looking for some tasty treats. It took Julia a while to hook one on, not because of her, but because the fish were teasing her. They were biting all around her fly, or right after her fly would drift by. However, after Bridget switched flies a couple times, Julia finally landed one. This time, it was a nice, little splake. Splake trout are a hybrid cross between a male brook trout and a female lake trout. They have a beautiful grayish color to them, and are definitely unique.
Last, but certainly not least, was Rachel. Rachel has been fly fishing for a couple years, but similar to Julia, expressed a frustration of not being able to catch much. Moving upstream just a little ways from Julia’s spot, Bridget got her hooked on a nice sized tiger trout. Biggest catch of the trip, thus far. After each one of us caught one, she sent us off on our own up and down the stream as she continued to work with us one-on-one down the line.
All while Rachel was working on catching her first fish of the weekend, I ended up catching myself a beautiful little trout, all on my own! I was so proud of myself for catching it by myself without the guidance. It was a pretty little fish, and everyone came rushing over to snap a photo. The evening was going very well! My second go around with Bridget, I ended up catching a nice long splake trout and was so proud of myself for keeping the hook in the fish as Bridget netted it. The excitement continued, as she helped the other ladies get on other fish as well. Every time one of us would catch one, the rest of us would all come running, cameras ready, and cheering each other on.
Bridget brought Julia and Rachel downstream passed some trees and bushes, so I cannot accurately describe their experiences at that time. However, Caitlin and I had a very exciting time where the water poured from the reservoir into the stream. As I was fishing in my own little spot, Caitlin yelled in excitement that she had a fish on. I immediately ran up to her to help net the big splake she had caught. It was a beautiful fish, and she caught it in the same area I had just caught mine not too long before. I decided to go back to get my things and come fish where Caitlin was, since it was a pretty hot spot at the time. On my way back, another excited shriek came from Caitlin, and this time it sounded like a big one. Once again, I came running with my net to help her land this massive Colorado Cutthroat. A whopper for sure. As I netted him, I ended up catching my finger in her top fly, as he was hooked on her nymph dropper. I didn’t care. This fish was more important. This was the biggest fish Caitlin had ever caught on a fly rod, and definitely the biggest fish of the weekend. We unhooked him, and took plenty of photos with him. We slowly released him back into the water, and it took him a little while before he decided to swim away. All of this happened with a hook in my finger. I didn’t start freaking out until after he was gone, and our focus turned away from the exciting catch. It didn’t really hurt much unless we tried moving it. On the way to the fishing spot this evening, Bridget was sharing various stories of getting hooked and how a couple times she had to go into town to get help getting them out. I really did not want this to be the case, and ruin the trip with a silly mishap. Caitlin calmed me down, and asked if I wanted to let her try and get it out herself before running for help. Caitlin is one of my best friends, and I trust her with a lot of things. I knew if anybody could get a hook out of someone, she could. I looked away, and took some deep breaths anticipating the pain from her trying to pull it out. However, after a short period of time, she smoothly pulled the hook out of my finger with significantly less pain than I had expected. I was ecstatic, and so grateful. “DUDE, YOU’RE A BADASS!” she exclaimed, and we continued fishing. It was a wonderful friendship bonding experience for the two of us, that I will never forget.
Soon after all of that excitement, I quickly caught a few more fish out of that same hole. They were just biting left and right, and I was so excited that I finally got the hang of setting the hook in time, without any assistance. As Bridget, Rachel, and Julia all approached, Caitlin and I sounded like little kids both yelling with excitement about all the things that had just happened within the last 15 minutes. Both Rachel and Julia caught several fish downstream from us as well. I guess you could say it was a very successful evening of fishing.
As the light began to fade, we packed up our things and hiked up the hill to Bridget’s truck and called it a night. We were all loosened up by then, and really felt like the trip was a complete success already. We shared some great conversations together as we headed back to Rachel’s truck, and made plans for the next morning. We parted ways with Bridget for the evening, and headed back to our campsite to enjoy some delicious tacos, Pacificos, and a campfire. We headed to bed with the stars shining brightly above us and dreamed of chunky trout.
Day 3- September 8th, 2019
As our alarms set off bright and early, we jumped out of our sleeping bags, ready to conquer the day. We packed up our camp and made an effort to clean up some trash that had been left there from other campers before us. With the Tacoma loaded up, we said our goodbyes to our home for the weekend and headed back into town to meet Bridget for another fun day of fishing.
Meeting up in Torrey, we once again piled into Bridget’s truck and set out for our adventure. This time, we went to a completely different area, and made our way several miles up a gnarly dirt road to a high mountain lake. Bridget and her truck were not phased by this road one bit. With heavy duty tires, and a fearless personality, we cruised our way up the mountain with ease, one bump and rock at a time. It was an adventure and memory in itself.
We finally made it up to our destination and began to rig up our rods and walk into our fishing spot. This time, Bridget brought a couple of float tubes for us to try out. She loaded both tubes on her back and almost looked like a turtle, being such a tiny person. We got to the edge of the lake, and sent Caitlin and Julia out on the water with their waders and the float tubes after some instruction with Bridget. Unfortunately, it was pretty windy that day, so it took quite a bit of effort to peddle across the lake to the ideal spot for brook trout. However, they made their way over and started fishing. Julia ended up catch a nice brook trout our there in the float tube! Meanwhile, Rachel and I walked around the lake with Bridget to the spot she knew fish were hanging out. After only a few casts into the water, I set the hook on a nice fat brookie just before Bridget could even say, “set!” I was so excited, and the fish was beautiful. Not too long after, Rachel ended up catching two on the bank side as well! It was really cool being able to look down into the water and actually see the fish swimming around, and even taking bites at our flies.
We switched our positions, and Rachel and I threw on waders, and plopped ourselves into the float tubes and peddled along the shore of the lake. It was pretty difficult maintaining our fly rods while pedaling against the wind with control and ease, but I enjoyed it, and would love to do it again when it isn't so windy. Rachel ended up catching a brookie from the float tube as well, and it was apparently huge! None of us were around her to cheer her on, but I could hear her shrieks of excitement as she pulled the fish into her net.
As the wind continued to pick up, we called it a day, and met back up at our starting spot with the rest of the group and began to pack up and head back to the truck. Not as many fish were caught on day two, but the ones that were, were gorgeous. It was a fun experience trying a different method of fly fishing with the float tubes as well. It definitely made me want to add one to my “gear to buy” list.
Cruising our way down the rugged mountain road, we continued to share laughs, stories, and wonderful times together as our trip with Bridget came to an end. With lots of exchanged hugs, we loaded up on Chunky Trout Outfitters stickers and swag, and said our “see ya laters’” to Bridget. Since we hadn’t eaten out the entire weekend, we decided to load up with delicious burgers from the Red Cliff Restaurant in Torrey, recommended by Bridget. It was an excellent decision and gave us the energy for the 6 hour drive home. Even though it was the end of the weekend and we were pretty worn out from all of our exciting activities, we still ended up chatting and laughing the whole way home. We ended up driving through some pretty heavy rain in the dark when we got into Colorado, but powered through and made it home safely to Oak Creek.
This trip was an experience that the four of us will never forget. We are now all great friends, and hit each other up to go fishing pretty frequently. During the planning process of this trip, I knew that we weren’t really the type of girls to normally hire a guide to take us fishing. However, after our experience with Bridget, I learned all the benefits of having a guide whether you’re a beginner, or an expert. She was so knowledgeable about all the different flies that the fish were liking, and was so quick at changing them out when needed. This saved us the hassle and time tying knots and getting tangled, and more time casting into the water. Having her there to tell us when to set the hook was a huge benefit as it is really hard to get used to seeing your flies drop when a fish bites. I learned a lot on this trip and finally felt the excitement of what it is like to catch fish on a fly. I’m officially “hooked.” Being a self taught fly fisher, and a strong independent woman, it was inspiring talking to her about how she got to where she is today, and where she would like to take her guiding service in the future. I’m proud to now call Bridget Fabel a friend, and can’t wait for more adventures with her in the future. I would love to make the Rocky Mountain Sportswomen Chunky Trout Outfitters trip an annual thing, and continue to provide amazing experiences for women in the outdoors.
Special thanks to Sweetwood Smokehouse and Altitude Snacks for providing us with delicious snacks for our amazing trip!