More women are taking the bait and joining their partners on the river bank. But Alison Jones finds not everyone is a convert.

Pop quiz: What is claimed to be the largest participation sport in the UK? Football? Racing? Tennis? Extreme Ironing? Well it's none of the above. In fact it's fishing. Long hours spent sitting on muddy river banks in all weathers.

The tactical tug of war between man and nature that appeals directly to the hunter gatherer instinct while offering time and space to contemplate life's big questions.

For years fishing, like darts and the snooker rooms in uppity golf clubs, has been a male dominated arena. But now women, tired of spending their weekends alone, are taking up the rod and reel and wading into the water.

Michelle Tuffley, 29, of Droitwich was a typical fishing widow. Her husband Simon had done it all his life. However, his hobby became his refuge after a back injury meant he could no longer carry on with his job as a forester.

"I started going with him to give him support," says Michelle. "I was sitting there doing nothing so I thought I might as well have a go and it just went from there.

"I got more into it and began reading his fishing magazines. I started enjoying myself."

Originally Michelle had gone along with a book and was content to just sit. Now she is more than happy to get her feet wet and her fingers dirty, though she does draw the line at putting maggots on hooks.

"I don't mind handling the fish but when it comes to maggots I do tend to turn into a bit of a girl and say 'can you do it please?'."

From the time she caught her first fish, Michelle was quite literally "hooked".

"I had this real sense of achievement. It was a chub, then I caught a barbel and after that a trout."

The couple had to look at ways that Simon could continue to get pleasure out of fishing without aggravating his back problem.

"He slipped a disc getting out of the car," explains Michelle. "We think he must have weakened it through his job. He has had an operation on it but it hasn't worked.

"We are lucky because there are areas where we can fish that are really accessible and we don't have to walk too far."

Michelle's new found appreciation for the sport meant that she was even willing to move the date of their wedding so they could indulge in a spot of fly-fishing.

"We got married last year in the Elan Valley and I realised the date coincided with the end of the fishing season. I rang up and asked if I could move the date of the ceremony forward a couple of weeks because I knew it would have been torture for him to be right next to a reservoir and not be able to fish."

However, she does admit that her enthusiasm only goes so far.

"I can understand what he is taking about when a new rod comes out. My eyes do glaze over sometimes but I know when to nod in the right places."

Simon, 33, began to realise the extent of Michelle's interest when the couple visited a tackle shop and she started advising him on what to buy.

"It was some blingy bit I was after and she said 'You don't need that'. I was shocked because I didn't know how she knew.

"Then it all came out about how she had been reading the magazines and watching fishing programmes for a lot longer than I realised."

Far from feeling that Michelle was intruding on "bloke time", Simon was delighted to have a fishing companion.

"I started taking a real interest in it when I was about 10. A friend's dad used to take us."

Working as a forester, his job used to take him within easy reach of rivers or lakes and it was the perfect way to relax.

"I can't do as much as I used too now," he admits. "But I am quite tuned in to nature and I really love being outdoors."

Simon was also keen to prove to Michelle that, even on days when the fish aren't biting, his hobby was anything but dull.

"You can go a whole week without catching anything when you are carp fishing. Then it becomes about tactics, trying to find out where they are, especially in the winter. And you get to see things like otters, foxes that will walk right by you if you are still enough and kingfishers that perch on the rods.

"There is always something to do, like tying rigs, mixing baits or going for a walk. If Michelle is there it is somebody to chat to so time goes pretty quickly."

However, he admits not all the women in his life share his passion.

"The dog gets bored. She likes going for walks along the river but not just sitting there. I've tried taking her but she just disappears off back to the car."

Michelle and Simon are indicative of a growing trend. Birmingham Angler's Association reports more couples are taking up joint memberships.

However, 20-year-old Holly Alder is a fishing widow who reveals that she sides with the Tuffley's dog.

Her husband Michael, 23, has been fishing for about three years but Holly says it holds no attraction for her "unless there was a pub next door with nice wine and comfy chairs where I could sit and watch from".

"I did go once," says Holly, a receptionist. "The weather was nice and I took a magazine so I wouldn't get bored. We were there about four hours and he caught more fish than he ever had, so he has been nagging me to go with him again because I'm a good luck charm but it's just not going to happen.

"Plus I don't think he would trust me with his gear so I couldn't really get involved."

Holly, says she was surprised when Michael, who works in a mobile phone shop, took it up: "I thought it was something old men did, not young lads."

Since then she has found herself sitting at home alone in Solihull on weekends and even in the evenings.

"I did try to stop him and suggest we do other things. He doesn't go every weekend but he does go a lot more in the summer. One Valentine's he had the day off from work so he spent the afternoon fishing then he turned up late, stinking of fish. He also leaves the bait in his car, which smells disgusting, so we have to use mine.

"He puts maggots in the freezer, which isn't nice when you have got food in there and has never cooked for me, even though he finds time to cook spam for bait.

"The amount of money he spends on it is also a problem. There is always some bit of equipment or gadget he has to buy while I think the money could be better spent on a weekend away."

Michael's attempts to involve Holly have, unfortunately, tended to backfire.

"We stayed in an apartment in Brighton over Christmas and he went out and bought a 10 part DVD on carp fishing. I just grabbed a glass of wine and a book and tried to chill out but it was hard not to feel a bit resentful. He switched it off eventually."

Holly says she might be able to understand the sport a bit more if Michael ever had anything to show for it apart from sunburn.

"If he and his friends go carp fishing they sit there all day waiting and then they have to put back what they caught. It seems a bit silly. I am not sure if it would better or worse if he did bring some fish home. On the one hand you would have dinner but I really wouldn't fancy having to gut and clean it."

It is a measure of Holly's forbearance that she has never issued Michael with an ultimatum to choose between her or his hobby.

"We did have one argument over the phone when he was fishing and I said he had to come home now, but I don't think I could ask him to give it up completely."

In fact she agreed to be interviewed in order to win some tickets for him to attend the Go Fishing Show at the NEC, which runs from next Friday until next Sunday.

"I'm not going with him though," she adds, hastily. "He's taking a friend. In fact I've just realised that the show is on the weekend of my birthday and yes, he is still going!"

* For more details on the Go Fishing show look up www.gofishingshow.com