Now that we’re seeing a few warm days, the movement of fish from deep water to shallower water for pre-spawn activity is certainly going to speed up.

If you are as good a fisherman as Robbie Everett over at Aberdeen Bait & Tackle, you know how to catch fish all winter, but most of us just park our poles during the coldest months and wait for spring.

I ran into Mr. Everett the other day and we were talking about what stage the fishing was in. He gave me some advice about using light jigs and small suspending crank baits. He’s always good about helping with a tip, and his store is the old-fashioned kind of bait shop with every kind of bait and worm you can imagine.

Everett also spends a good amount of time guiding fishing parties. Last year he began ­guiding on one of the best bass lakes in the country, a place over near Laurinburg named the Kingfisher Society.

Kingfisher is owned by a fellow named Jim Morgan, whose family has owned the lake for more than 150 years. Water from the dam drove machinery for about half of that time, but eventually the textile mills there were converted to electricity, and the lake became a recreational resource for employees.

About five years ago, Morgan had to make a decision about the fate of the lake. The dam was beginning to have problems and Morgan was told he either had to breach the dam and drain the lake, or drain the lake and fix the dam. He chose the latter.

That’s a good thing for the fishermen of the world.

While the dam was being repaired, Morgan and his team hatched a plan to create the best fishing lake anywhere. They started with a hybrid fish, ­crossing a Florida bass and white bass. One grows fast, the other is very aggressive. They brought in biologists and food experts, and filled the bottom of the lake with structure to attract and hold fish. These fish get fed by automatic feeders twice a day, on a special Purina chow diet, so they grow at a rapid rate.

Everett believes his parties will catch some 10-pounders this year, but four to six pounds are already fairly common.

On my first day on the lake, over a two-hour period, I boated 10 fish that weighed in at 44 pounds. Chain pickerel are in there, up to seven pounds, and if you’ve never seen a two-pound bluegill, well, you could catch one of those as well.

All this expertise, and the promise of a lifetime lunker on the other end, make fishing fairly expensive by most fresh water standards. After all, it’s set up not just for fishing and shooting sports, but for corporate team building, customer relationship building, and other business events of the sort.

It’s a first class experience, too small to be anything but exclusive, so it’s not cheap. The fact that there aren’t people thrashing all over the lake is part of the appeal.

During this transition period in the weather, Everett talked his boss into allowing a few dates where the “everyman” fisher has a chance to enjoy the lake, without all the frills.

For the next couple of weeks, you can join Everett for a six-hour fishing excursion for about half the usual Kingfisher rates.

Yes, they call it fishing, not catching, but with a guide like Everett, there is a pretty good chance you’ll come away with a fishing memory for a lifetime. I sure did.

Fishing dates are limited to the next couple of weeks, so grab your gear and call Mr. Everett at Aberdeen Bait & Tackle at (910) 944-6016 or (910) 639-3121.

When you hear your friends bragging, don’t say I didn’t tell you.

Pat Taylor is the advertising director for The Pilot. Contact him at pat@thepilot.com.