I've never fished Lake Lure. It might be the closest major lake near Asheville. I had a friend, now deceased, that liked it. It has Bass, Walleyes, and some Trout I think. The French Broad River flows right through Asheville. It has Smallmouth and Musky. Fontana Lake, Santeetlah Lake, and Calderwood Lake aren't all that far. Fontana isn't as good of a Smallmouth lake as it once was. Invasive Alabama Spotted Bass are gradually taking it over. Santeetlah Lake is a lake that was good to me last year. I trolled up Rainbows, a few Browns, an occasional Largemouth Bass, and my biggest Walleye ever....close to 3 Kg. Calderwood has Rainbows and some big Browns. Santeetlah and Calderwood are close to each other. They don't rent boats at Calderwood. Most of Calderwood Lake is in Tennessee. You can fish the lake with either state's Permit and Trout Stamp.
In Asheville, you're closer to Tennessee than you maybe think. You could take interstate 26 north west up to Watauga Lake that's just across the border in Tennessee. It's one of the best Trout lakes in the region. If you go there, hire a guide. You need downriggers, lead-core lines, and Dipsy Divers to get your lures down to where the Lakers are. It also has Rainbows, some Browns, Walleyes, and lots of Smallmouths. I've caught several Smallies there around 2 Kg. I lost one right beside the boat last spring that was gonna be over 3 Kg, maybe close to 3.5 Kg...?
Southwest of Asheville are Hiwassee Lake and Apalachia Lake. Hiwassee has Bass and Stripers. Apalachia has Smallmouths, Browns, and some Rainbows. It doesn't have boat rentals. Hiwassee does have marinas where you should be able to rent boats.
Smallmouth fishing is generally better than Trout fishing in the early spring. The Smallmouth will be starting to congregate near the places they'll spawn. Lake and Brown Trout will be be spread all over the lakes. Rainbows can be harder to find in some lakes because they might be spawning in tributary streams. l