Since the days when the first hunters fashioned tools and projectile points from flint, outdoorsmen have always found a way to devise the equipment they needed.

Even today, when it appears nearly all of a hunter or angler's needs are being met, there still are those willing to step into an empty niche with an innovative idea.

Take Curt Lackey of Centralia, Ill.

Lackey, who has been a practicing attorney for 40 years, recently took the entrepreneurial plunge and developed a portable gun rest that clamps onto almost any walking stick.

After growing frustrated with monopods, bipods, tripods and other supports that were too unstable, too tall, too short or too clumsy to carry, he spent the past few years developing and perfecting the Little Sure Shot Gun Rest.

The product gets its name from legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley, who earned the nickname Little Sure Shot.

Lackey says his product will aid those sportsmen who have little time to practice.

"I have the same problem that many hunters do that don't have the time, the money or the desire to shoot as much as we should," he says. "We all need all the help we can get."

Lackey likes to hunt sitting on a stool with the gun rest attached to a walking stick. Pistol shooters set their wrists on the gun rest, while long-gun hunters use it to balance the firearm's weight.

He says his product, which weighs about 6 ounces, is easier for traveling hunters to transport. Fore more information, visit www.thunderboltcustoms.com.

Bruce Mosher of Beltrami, Minn., is another outdoorsman who keeps coming up with products to solve frustrating problems.

In Minnesota, winter is known as hard-water fishing season. The fish pulled out of the water and left on the ice end up frozen solid and are difficult to clean or fillet. So Mosher developed the Ice-Well, a mesh bag with a recloseable top that fits down inside a hole drilled in the ice. It keeps the fish fresh instead of frozen. The Ice-Well also has uses for those who fish from a canoe, for example - they can keep fish alive by hanging it over the side of the boat. Shore anglers living where hard-water season is all too short could substitute it for a stringer.

The Ice-Well and other products, including an interesting line of bobbers for all situations, can be seen at www.todaystackle.com.

Mosher's products were among dozens of goods and services on display at a fall outdoors writer's conference in Alexandria, Minn.

What they all have in common is the human drive to solve problems and make life just a little better, even if the weather doesn't cooperate and even when the fish aren't biting.

Once the ice melts and the temperatures heat up, Hobie, the company that experimented with foam and fiberglass surfboards in the 1960s and later developed the Hobie Cat catamaran, has a line of pedal kayaks.

The pedaling motion is more back and forth, like a stepper exerciser, instead of circular. The pedals move a pair of underwater fins that sweep through the water to propel the kayak. The fins flex as they move, displacing water and pushing the kayak along.

A hand-controlled rudder governs steering, and it can be flipped up and out of the way when the kayak is in shallow water for getting in and out. Drive fins can be manipulated by the depth of the pedal stroke for travel in shallow water. A paddle is included for backing up.

Propulsion by pedals helps keep hands free for fishing or photography. The MirageDrive pedal system is easily removable. For more information, visit www.hobiekayaks.com.

It's a fact that internal combustion engines generate heat. So why not capture some of that heat to keep the exposed driver of an all-terrain vehicle warm?

For long trips to the back 40, ATV riders can don a parka that acts like a tent and traps heat inside.

The parka, made by Cocoon ATV Protective Outerwear, is available in red, green or camouflage. For more information, visit www.atvcocoon.com.

River Ridge Custom Canoes of Rochester, Minn., offers canoes tricked out with everything a hunter or angler could need, including umbrellas with mounts, wooden floor racks to keep feet dry, hunting blinds, rod holders and accessory storage. For all-day sportsmen, a solar panel is available to recharge the trolling motor battery on the go. For more information, visit www.riverridgecustomcanoes.com.

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