GIFT IDEAS FOR OUTDOORSPERSONS INCLUDE THE WONDERDUCK.

Byline: Daily News Wire Services

Running out of ideas about what to get the outdoors enthusiast for the holidays? Have none to begin with?

Here's a few suggestions offered by various outdoors writers and one humorist:

Wonderduck Decoys are the next best thing to live decoys, according to Jim Matthews of Outdoors News Service in San Bernardino. The little motor inside the G&H decoy makes a pair of feet paddle and wings flap. One Wonderduck will add water motion and life to about a dozen regular decoys, and the wings can be seen from several hundred yards away. ``With the one I bought earlier this year,'' wrote Matthews, `` I have been stealing ducks from much better sets and much better callers all this season.''

Call [phone] or write to: Wonderduck Decoys, 505 N. Price, Marshall, Texas 75670. They are made from G&H decoys and cost $59.95 for the standard size, $69.95 for the magnum and $79.95 for a goose version. Shipping is $6.95 per decoy.

For the experienced angler, try the Wheel-A-Bait tackle box ($55), the most unusual tackle to hit the market in decades, according to Bob Hood of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Instead of being stored in compartments, lures in the Wheel-A-Bait are placed in slots on shelves that revolve under a clear lid for viewing and selecting the lure of your choice. The lure compartment has been compared to a paddle on a paddle boat. The slotted panels will store up to 50 lures.

Chicago Tribune's John Husar has a few tips just for the kids:

Many new varieties of youth camouflage are offered in catalogs, along with toy-shotgun kits and a reflex-building air gun that shoots rubber darts at spinning pigeons.

``Hunter Dan'' is a $20 Cabela's action figure of a deer hunter in a tree stand, complete with field glasses and blaze orange.

Deer Pond Publishing Inc., [phone], offers a budding series of youth novels with outdoor themes, from hunting to fishing teddy bears.

Funnyman Dave Barry of the Miami Herald offers up the Sportsperson's Safety Harness.

Every year, a certain number of hunters fall out of trees - an occurrence that can result in tragedy if the hunter lands on an innocent animal. Also the hunter might get hurt.

That is why we strongly recommend this safety harness for the active tree-lurking sportsperson on your holiday gift list. One end of the harness is strapped firmly to the sportsperson's body, and the other end is attached to the tree. Thus if the hunter falls out of the tree, instead of landing on the ground, he will be dangling in the air, where playful bears can bat him around like a tetherball.

Sells for $14.97, plus shipping and handling, from The Sportsman's Guide, 411 Farwell Ave., So. St. Paul, Minn. 55075; [phone].

Eric Sharp of the Detroit Free Press recommends a couple of items.

Fishing sandals: You can't watch TV on a Saturday without seeing a good ol' boy with a Southern twang and a pair of Birkenstocks derricking bass out of a borrow pit. But make sure the sandals are made for fishing. Not only should they be impervious to water, they should be designed so that gravel and other debris wash through and don't get caught under the feet or straps. Price range: $30-$150.

Electric fish-hook sharpener: An amazing number of fish are lost because the hook wasn't sharp enough. A small sharpener eliminates that excuse and lets anglers touch up the points on bait hooks and lures in the boat or while sitting in front of the TV on a winter evening. Price range: $20-$40.

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PHOTO (color) Humorist Dave Barry's annual gift guide includes this harness to keep hunters from falling out of trees and maybe hurting some animals.

Bob Eighmie / Miami Herald