By April C. Doughty
I’d like to introduce myself and my husband Brad. Together, we’ll be writing on outdoor topics for the Lincoln Parish Journal.
I grew up outside the city limits of Ruston riding, raising, and showing American Paint Horses. My childhood home was nestled amidst mixed hardwood forests, rolling hills, and winding creeks. My brother Caleb and I spent most of our time exploring the wilderness around us and testing the reach of our mom’s summoning whistle.
Growing up, I ran or rode trails on the hunting property that adjoined my family’s property, and during hunting season, I would tag along with my dad, helping to spot and trail deer. I never took much personal interest in hunting or fishing until I met Brad, but the woods have always felt like home to me.
During the summer of 2021, in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, my brother mentioned edible mushrooms to me and told me how you can find them in the woods. I was immediately reminded of the movie “Into the Wild” (2007) and how McCandless died in the end after eating foraged food. I laughed and told my brother he was crazy.
Our conversation stuck with me though. Because I’m naturally curious and love the outdoors, I started reading about edible and medicinal plants and mushrooms online. Soon, I bought my first foraging book and started identifying and eating plants out of my own backyard.
In October of 2021, my brother and I attended a foraging class in east Texas taught by Mark “Merriwether” Vorderbruggen, Ph.D. That class multiplied my interest, and I took other classes with retired botanist Dr. Charles Allen and Matthew Herron of Coastal Plains Outdoors. I also connected with the Louisiana Master Naturalists Northeast and the Gulf Coast Mycological Society. Both organizations continue to help me learn about the natural world.
In 2023, I met Brad. He shared my love of the outdoors and matched my curiosity while bringing a depth of outdoor knowledge and a sense of adventure that I’ve yet to fully tap. Brad grew up in West Monroe. His dad, Tommy Doughty, was a professional bass fisherman and an avid outdoorsman who raised Brad outdoors, mostly on public land and on the water.
Over the years, Brad became an amateur wildlife biologist, studying animals and their behaviors. He loves all things outdoors from hunting deer, feral hogs, fowl, and small game to rod and reel fishing for game and nongame fish and bowfishing, especially for big gar.
About 15 years ago, Brad started getting some local media attention for the huge alligator gar he was harvesting while bowfishing, including more than one over 7 feet long and over 200 pounds. At the time, no one else in the area was doing what he was, and his skills captured the attention of producers from “Biggest and Baddest,” a Nat Geo Wild series hosted by biologist Niall McCann.
For Season 2, Episode 1, “Swamp Monsters,” Brad helped the crew locate and catch big alligator gar, alligator snapping turtles, and native venomous snakes for the show that aired in 2012.
Over the years, Brad also caught the attention of Glynn Harris, an outdoor writer for Louisiana Sportsman and other publications and has been featured multiple times to highlight his knowledge of hunting public lands and bowfishing.
Brad and I have been together since early 2023, and I shot my first deer, a mature doe, during archery season that year. Since then, I’ve been hooked, and when we’re not working, we’re usually outside somewhere and recording our adventures @thedoughtysoutdoors.
During our first few years together, we’ve both shared knowledge with each other, but I’ve definitely soaked up more knowledge from Brad than he has from me. When we met, he had decided to step away from bowfishing and social media to some extent. He’d even sold his boat. Before we met, he’d recently finished a personal challenge to catch at least one fish every day for a year with rod and reel, and he’d succeeded.
As we got to know one another, he would tell a lot of bowfishing stories. The more stories he told, the more interested I became. Soon he was rigging a bow for me, and I was shooting my first fish on a trip to Texas. I’ve been working at improving my skills ever since.
We spent our first two years together bowfishing from the bank, mostly on public land, but this summer Brad decided to get a bowfishing boat again. That decision has changed the whole game and given him the opportunity to thrive again at what he’s best at: hunting big alligator gar.
Between the two of us, we’ve taken 10 this summer. This is also the first year the Bowfishing Association of America has accepted women’s records, and in the last two months, I’ve racked up enough women’s records to rank third in the nation. Brad also has a pending state and world record blacktail redhorse.
As summer bowfishing is drawing to a close and deer season approaches, we’re super excited about this opportunity to share our ever growing knowledge of the outdoors and to cover locally relevant outdoor topics. If you have a story in mind, please reach out to me at lpjnewsla@gmail.com (attention April Doughty).
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