HOOKED!

Jason Bleibtreu fishing the Major Jones Pool, Tongariro River. Images supplied by River Birches

You don’t have to be a fisherman to enjoy River Birches, but if you ARE a fisherman, you’ll think you’ve landed in seventh heaven. Located near Turangi – the trout fishing capital of the world - at the bottom of Lake Taupo, this small boutique lodge is truly a fisher’s paradise. Three renowned fishing pools – Major Jones, Breakfast and Hydro – are literally steps from the lodge’s back gate and a tackle room stores high quality fishing gear and waders available to guests. On top of that, there’s a Rivercam, which shows all three pools throughout the day and lodge staff can recommend the best fishing guides. Lodge owner, Jason Bleibtreu, a keen fisherman himself, says: “We established a weather station beside the webcam to show current temperature, wind direction and speed. This allows keen fishermen to check out the conditions from the comfort of their own computer and they can then decide at a moment’s notice, to head to River Birches.” The Tongariro River (above) is the epicentre of trout fishing. “People come here from all over the world just to fish these waters,” Jason adds. www.riverbirches.co.nz