Meet someone who thinks a 5am start is romantic

Fish For Singles is for people whose best weekends involve water. The carp angler who knows every swim on the club lake. The sea angler who checks the tide before the forecast. The fly angler who will happily drive two hours for an evening rise and come home with nothing but a good story.

It is just as much for the people who don't fish yet but like the idea of someone who does. If you'd rather spend Saturday on a riverbank with a flask than in a crowded bar, you'll fit in here.

The guides are written for the UK first, so they talk about rod licences, day tickets and British weather. Members can also join from Ireland, the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and a few other countries. A good place to start is the angling section, or, if you're the one who doesn't fish, what dating an angler is really like.

A short session on the bank can be a lovely first date. You sit side by side rather than across a table, there's always something to look at, and a bobbing float fills the silences for you. The trick is to keep it to two or three hours, pick a venue with toilets and a café nearby, and bring a spare rod so your date can have a go.

Check the licence rules before you set off. In England and Wales, anyone 13 or over needs a rod licence to fish for freshwater fish, salmon, trout or eels (it's free for 13 to 16-year-olds). Northern Ireland needs a licence too. Scotland has no rod licence, but most waters need a permit, and salmon fishing is banned on Sundays. Our full guide to planning a fishing first date covers venues, kit for two, water safety and a plan B for when nothing bites.

The site is one way in; the bank is another. Most towns have an angling club, and clubs mean work parties, socials, match days and the same friendly faces every week. Join for the fishing and let the rest follow. Our guide to meeting people through angling clubs explains how to join as a newcomer and what a match day actually involves.

Once things are going well, a fishing break for two can be a brilliant holiday, as long as it's planned for both of you. Read fishing holidays for couples for how to choose somewhere that works if one of you fishes and the other would rather walk, read or swim.

Fish For Singles is run by High Intent Media Inc, a Delaware corporation. The members area, where you sign up, pay and message, is run by the same company and shared with partner sites in the network.

Your bank statement shows the billing name displayed at checkout, which may be a network name rather than "Fish For Singles", so it's worth noting it when you pay. Photos are reviewed; what members write about themselves isn't checked. Read about the site and who runs it, the one-page key facts, or our straight answer to whether Fish For Singles is legit.