Fishers face rescue bill

Three men who had been drinking on a Lake Taupo fishing trip are facing a "considerable" rescue bill after Coastguard volunteers spent three hours searching for their broken-down boat.

The men were returning to Taupo on a 9m launch after a day's fishing on the lake's Western Bay when their engine failed about 6pm on Saturday.

The skipper called police and told them the launch had broken down at Mine Bay, about 14km from where it was eventually found.