(Lake Logan, NC — October 11, 2020) The St. John’s Fly Fishers had an amazing experience at Lake Logan the weekend of October 9-11. This was a trip that was rescheduled a couple of times due to Covid restrictions. We were able to settle in on a good combination of camping and comfortable lodging with a picturesque setting.
Lake Logan is in an Episcopal retreat center south of Canton North Carolina which is a few miles west of Asheville. It is a former lumber company executive retreat built in the 1920s. The lake is tucked into a deep valley — when you arrive you are treated to amazing scenery, glass-like lake, and trees everywhere. For us they were near peak for the fall. The group likes Lake Logan as a base camp for a couple of reasons. One, is the combination of lodging options and two, being able to have all of our meals taken care of each day. The dining hall menu was impressive. Breakfast and dinner were the highlights, with lunch prepared for us in advance in box form to take with us fishing.
The trip goers this year were Dan Robertson, Greg Williams, Brad Smith, Chip Day, Dottie Hedberg, David Possage, Craig Murden, and Will Jetton. Three of us were campers, setting up tents right along the stream and were treated to a peaceful backdrop and lots of rain. The lodge/house, accommodated the rest of the crew with private rooms with bathrooms. It was very comfortable and everyone felt it would be a great place to revisit.
One of the highlights was our Holy Eucharist led by Fr. Brad Smith on Sunday morning. Being thankful for God’s outdoor gifts, his presence stream-side along with breaking of the bread and drinking from the cup of wine under Covid precautions was extremely meaningful not the least because it’s been a while for many of us to have taken communion in person. Brad shared a message of “connection”, outside of the physical church, that can often bring each of us closer to Jesus. Focusing on Luke 5:1-11, where Jesus instructs the first disciples to cast into the deep, Brad encouraged us to go deeper in our trust for God’s presence, in all facets of our lives. When we do, we are changed into the instruments God uses to attract others to Him. Evangelism sounds and looks a lot like matching the hatch. (Consider St. Paul 1 Corinthians 9:20-23)
The fishing for the weekend turned out to be very good. There is a stretch that is great for beginners, right before the lake entrance. That was ideal for learning to read the water, cast, and negotiate the rocky stream bottom. This river is the West Fork of the Pigeon. We fished in various sections in the delayed harvest area, catching many brown and rainbow trout. Several of us ventured to higher elevations in nearby Pisgah National Forest, where we found native brook trout.
There are many other close streams we simply didn’t have time to explore, but look forward to fishing when we return next year. We have booked the same weekend for 2021 and encourage folks with interest to Email us for more information.
Here is a link to our trip photos [Lake Logan Trip Photos]
St. John’s Fly Fishers 
You must be logged in to post a comment.