There was a time when I made spinners for steelhead, salmon and trout. At first it was to save money. In those days, the spinner I liked cost $1.85, and I could build one for 35 cents in parts. I made them with heavier blades, better quality components and custom colors — and they fished like a million bucks. Well, maybe 40 bucks.

Many others took the same path, and some of them are still making spinners. At the Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show in Portland last week, I cruised the aisles and found new gear I’m looking forward to fishing this year.

A lure that casts farther and sinks faster is of real value on rivers with deep, narrow channels like the Umpqua or the Deschutes. There is a new spinner from a company called Tactical Tackle (www.nwextremeoutfitters.com). It looks like a Blue Fox spinner, but it is heavier. For the size of a No. 3 Blue Fox, you get a spinner that casts like a No. 4.

Another new spinner I really like is from Team VIP (www.vipoutdoors.com). These look a lot like the last generation of spinners I was building, except they are a bit trickier, with cool paint fades and sparkle. And they come in the right colors for fishing rivers like the Clackamas, McKenzie and the Wilson. Start with the 3⁄8-ounce version and go up and down from there for winter and summer fish.

XFactor Tackle’s new steelhead bait is a soft bead that, infused with scent, looks, feels and smells like natural roe. They come in 8 mil, 10 mil and 12 mil. Try the smaller size for trout or low water steelhead. Try the larger one for steelhead and salmon. If headed to Alaska, bring a few packs in different colors and sizes to match natural eggs from various salmon species.

For salmon fishermen, the best new bait I could find was from Brad’s Killer Fishing Gear. This is a system that has been producing on the east side, from the Hanford Reach on up. Last fall, it started bending rods down at Buoy 10. Check out Brad’s Super Cut Plug or Super Bait. Both have an open cavity to add scent. It looks like a cut plug herring and fishes with a 360-degree loop rotation. If going to the Columbia in August and September, give this one a try.

There is a smaller version, Brad’s Mini Cut Plug 3.0, which is a good bet for silvers and kokanee, too. Brad’s provides a tech sheet with a dozen different ways to rig their new baits.

I have some personal experience with Pro-Cure’s new Salmon Slammer Super Gel. On the Columbia last September, we dressed our baits with this mixture made from real, whole fresh shrimp, salmon eggs and garlic, enriched with amino acids, UV flash and bite stimulants. It can be added to plugs, hoochies, flashers, plastics and other baits. It worked for me.

Look out for a new bait from the Kokanee Kid. I saw Jeremy Jahn in Portland and he showed me his Twisted Hoochie, a small downrigger hoochie with a built-in spinner and double red hooks. This rig is going to account for a lot of fish this season.

My friend, Bob Roberts, a Columbia River guide from the Umatilla area, wished he had better fishing pliers, so he made them with bigger handles for positive retention in high-stress, big-fish situations — when there’s a big sturgeon on the line or when the salmon bite is hot. With orange grips the size of standard lever-action rifle-cocking handles, Handlerite pliers are going to be indispensable in sturgeon and salmon boats up and down the Columbia.

One of the last tools to put to use on a good day is a fillet knife. Last summer, I carved up a chinook with a 12-inch Bubba Blade fillet knife. I’ve never cut a salmon so fast. Now Bubba Blade has a new one, a 9-inch serrated flex fillet knife. You have to look close for the serrations on this blade, but it is wicked, sticky sharp. I hope to fillet a big Odell Laker with this blade this spring.

This is the season of the sport show. The Central Oregon Sportsmen’s Show starts March 3. Hope to see you there.

— Gary Lewis is the host of “Frontier Unlimited TV” and author of “John Nosler — Going Ballistic,” “Fishing Mount Hood Country,” “Hunting Oregon” and other titles. Contact Lewis at www.GaryLewisOutdoors.com.