The Radipose: native fish, wild runs, remote rivers, uplifting conservation, and stories from the water
Radical: At its core, "radical" means relating to the root, origin, or foundation of something. Derived from the Latin word radix (meaning "root"), it is used across various fields to describe fundamental principles, sweeping changes to a system, or extreme, unorthodox ideas.
Adipose: The adipose fin is a small, fleshy, rayless fin located on the back of certain fish, positioned between the main dorsal fin and the tail. It is primarily found in salmonids (such as salmon, trout, and char) and is removed by hatchery programs to distinguish hatchery-raised fish from those born in the wild.
The goal of The Radipose is education through recreation. I recently posted an opinion piece on The Radavist about using fly fishing as a metaphor when discussing consumerism in the bike industry. It drew a lot of attention. At The Radavist, we are deeply passionate about environmentalism and consumerism. For most hobbies and industries, these are intertwined, but especially for the bike industry. Right now, the electronification of the bicycle and its components is posing many questions about recreation access and excessive waste. Fishing is even more intertwined in its existence as a hobby, industry, and lifestyle to its impact on the planet. Fisheries themselves are threatened from many angles like environmental pressures due to climate change, and from policy changes like the proposed lifting of the Roadless Rule. I know that there is a great opportunity to help educate people about the fascinating fish we have in North America, their life history, the beautiful places they inhabit, and the conservation issues they face.
This fits The Radavist in a number of ways. Firstly, we are environmentalists before we are cyclists. That applies to much of our audience. Second, I would like to use bicycles to access fisheries in all of these articles. That means using them to pull a canoe, bike to an alpine lake, or ride from one swing run to another. Bikes can penetrate closer to wilderness than a car (hopefully) and are also far less of an impact on the world in general. This means finding alpine lakes that can be accessed using mountain bikes, rivers with primitive roads alongside them for gravel riding, and urban interconnected waters using bikes to facilitate exploration.
Below are a number of potential stories. While most of these focus on backcountry fisheries, I do think an urban fishery or two would be interesting as well. After all, the fish are at our feet.
Summer Steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula
In the lower 48, The Olympic Peninsula is the last remaining stronghold for wild steelhead in wild, undammed rivers. As less snow accumulates in the Olympic Mountains due to a warming climate, summer-run steelhead are facing increasing summer water temperatures and lower water levels. We’ll discuss how forest fires, the deposition of black carbon, and increasing angler pressure are affecting the steelhead in Washington’s last remaining coastal frontier.
Smallmouth Bass on the Mississippi River
The smallmouth bass is the fish of the large rivers of the Midwest and one of the most adaptable fish native to North America. They can be found in waters as large as the oceanic-like Great Lakes all the way down to small creeks barely perceptible on the map. The Mississippi River, one of the largest in the world, is also one of the most heavily altered and trafficked. Even in the heart of Minneapolis, the smallmouth bass thrives.
Bull Trout in BC
Bull Trout, once fished to near extinction with a bounty on their head, are now one of the greatest signs of an intact and healthy ecosystem. These fish grow to huge proportions, but only if the three Cs are met: clear water, connected rivers, and clean habitat. British Columbia is home to some of the healthiest bull trout populations as well as some of the best mountain biking on the planet.
Searun and Coastal Cutthroat in Puget Sound and the Bellingham Backcountry
The coastal cutthroat is a curious species; it is the only cutthroat trout that runs to the ocean. The study of his fish is in its infancy so we’ll get to know the people of the coastal cutthroat coalition to better understand this frequently overlooked fish. After finding them in the salt of Puget Sound, we’ll head high into the mountains to meet the resident populations of the same species.
West Slope Cutthroat in the Washington Cascades
The west slope cutthroat is separated from its coastal cousin by mere miles. These fish can be found high in the alpine lakes of the Washington Cascades and all the way out to the flowing rivers of Montana. This is the native trout of the Mountain West.
Rio Grande Cutthroat in the high desert
The desert is not where most people expect to find fish, and yet, the Rio Grande cutthroat persists. Somehow, amongst the arid plateaus and aspen groves, this small green fish has found a way to dodge the heat in the cutbank troughs that one could step across without getting wet. We’ll catch up with John Watson to discuss climate change at the far southern edge of the Colorado Plateau and how this is impacting his favorite trout.
Largemouth Bass and Pike in Northern Michigan
This piece will be about me and my home. My childhood is filled with memories of Northern Pike rising from the depths under my grandfather’s rowboat, of nights spent fishing until I could no longer see through the gloom, of unexplainable noises deep in the woods, and the lakes in which I learned how to be alone.
“The anthropic landscape has not been kind to our native fish. Dams impede migratory fish from reaching their historic spawning grounds. Invasive species have upended food chains. Riparian habitat loss and agricultural pollution have changed water chemistry and nutrient flow. Ever-lessening snowpack in the mountains means smaller and warmer summer water levels. And yet, through it all, the native fish of North America have persisted. Some have found haven in waters far off the beaten path. Others have adapted to new conditions. The Radipose is our series on these stories of interconnected landscapes, fish, and human recreation.”
Sponsor ROI:
photos for use in your marketing and social media
product reviews where applicable and appropriate (using OnX, what gear did I choose to bring and why, etc.)
brand trust: seeing a brand stand behind a project about education and conservation builds brand trust
reach: this project doesn’t sit within the confines of one industry with only that audience; the goal is to escape the confines and reach more people: fish people see bikes, bike people see fish, everybody wins, this does somewhat rely on social media cross posting