Fishing in Vietnam: Your Guide to the Best Fishing Spots

Going fishing is a healthy hobby that not only helps people relieve stress effectively but also provides them with natural, delicious sources of food. In Vietnam, there are many intermittent rivers and streams, which are extremely convenient for going fishing.

Especially in the rainy and flooding season, the water level will be better for fishing. When river fishing, you should pay attention to highlighting characteristics such as the location of the resident fish, the time of fishing, bait, hook, etc. In this article, we will provide you with ideal places to go fishing in Vietnam, along with helpful fishing tips for your most fulfilled experience.

Listen to more Vietnam fishing tips on the Cast & Spear Podcast

Go Fishing in Vietnam – Fishing Tips

If you want to go fishing, the first thing is that you need to know the type of fish you want to fish, choose the right time and place, and choose from reputable goods to equip yourself with high-quality genuine fishing gear so that you can achieve the most optimal effect.

1. Find out which type of fish you want to fish

Just like humans with different personality traits, each fish has different characteristics. They prefer to live in shallow or deep water; some prefer to live in clear or muddy waters. Certain species of fish prefer to live alone or in groups; others prefer to have to bait fast/ slowly, etc. This information will be beneficial for you in choosing fishing rods, fishing machines, bait, and fishing lines with appropriate tension unify.

2. Choose a suitable fishing time

About the Water Level

• If you prefer river fishing, you should be fishing on low-water days (from the 5th to the 12th and from the 20th to the 28th of each lunar calendar).
• If you’d like to fish at ponds and lakes, you should catch on a big day (the rest days of the month). This time will provide you with the best water with several big fish.

About the Weather

• When it rains heavily, the fish often hide and do not dare to feed. On sunny days, due to the harsh light, the fish cannot find any bait. Springtime (from January to April) is when fish often float to the surface of the water, so they are easily hooked.

When to Fish

• The early morning or late afternoon, especially after the rain, is the best moment for fishing. The time when the sun is bright and the air is fresh, we all love these gorgeous gifts from the Mother Nature. And so do fish!
• If you’re into sea fishing, I recommend going night fishing for effectiveness.

3. Choose a preferable place

• When fishing, we should sit right at the drain to catch the water. This is where the water rises, and the fish follow the water flowing through the pipe. If you go fishing, you should sit in places with dams, rocks, stakes, or where fish obstacles are concentrated. Then, you can drop the fishing rod where there are piles with bottoms and rocks.
• You should steer clear of places that are empty or with harsh sunlight and strong winds because here, the fish often hide at the deep bottom. Dropping your fishing rod in bushes, dense reeds, or watercourses leading to or discharging in dams will be an extremely effective solution for you.

4. Choose the appropriate fishing tackle

• Depending on your purpose of river, lake, or coastal fishing, you can choose a suitable vertical or horizontal machine. The vertical machine is often reserved for freshers in the fishing world because it is easier to use than the horizontal machine. The horizontal machine is for professional anglers who prefer a long-range that allows the bait to be very far from shore.
• Depending on the fish you want to fish, especially the weight, you can select the right fishing machine load.

5. Pay attention to your fishing rod

About the fish size

• Big fish – big rods.
• Small fish – small rods.
• Perch and tilapia – rods with high flexibility.
• Snakehead fish, catfish, carp, pangasius – big rods with reliable power.

About the fishing method

• Lure fishing: in this way, you always hold your fishing rod tight to fling and retract. Therefore, you should choose lightweight fluorocarbon fishing rods (you had better get a Lure fishing rod, usually with medium or low action).
• Other types: you should use a fishing reel.

About the fishing location

• For river fishing, choose a rod with a length from 1.6m to 3m.
• For sea fishing, choose a rod with a length from 3.2 to 4.5m.

About the fishing terrain

• In complex terrain, you should choose a fishing rod with medium action to quickly pull the fish.
• Suitable terrain (no obstacles like lakes or rivers). Feel free to pick your rod.

About the fishing distance

The length of your fishing rod will be related to the tossing distance and the line acquisition speed. The longer your rod is, the further your location will be.

6. Choose the accessories

Accessories in fishing, such as hook, float, sinker, line, and lure, must be suitable for your fishing rod.

• Fishhook: There are many types of hooks in large and small sizes. Each of them is suitable for a type of fish. For example, the eagle claw hook is used to catch sea bass; the hookah is used to catch Pangasius kunyit; and small kinds of hooks are used to catch gobiiformes, sillaginidae, perch. You should use a hook that is as small as possible and capable of hiding bait to fool fish.
• Fishing float: There are 2 types of this: latex float and foam float. If you go fishing at night, you must have more light floats at the top of the fishing rod. This is suitable for catching barramundi and sphyraenidae.
• Fishing sinker: for sea fishing – flat sinker; when the water boils – a round sinker. Besides, there are spare and sharp sinkers for flexible situations.
• Fishing line: small fish – monofilament line, big fish – braided line.

7. Choose the right fishing bait

Each fishing area and the place has many different types of fish with different bait characteristics.

• There are commonly 2 types of bait: natural bait and homemade bait. Fishing in lakes, ponds prefer to bait processed industrial food such as potatoes, bananas, etc. Also, river fishing and sea fishing require natural bait such as shrimp, worms, crickets, snails, etc.
• Floating fish such as carp, tilapia, or barbel chub prefer shrimp or banana bait. The bottom sinkers, including olyridae and siluridae like to eat shrimp bait or fake bait.
• Especially for river fishing, the way of bait feeding is to poke. You should draw experience to choose a chewy, unbroken bait to catch fish at their very first pieces of bait.

Besides, you should also choose a variety of different bait to easily lead the bait game.

8. Go fishing with your friends

Why not combine doing what you love and hanging out with your friends at the same time? Invite them to the fishing party and share your experiences and knowledge about fishing. The more, the merrier!

Best Places for Fishing in Vietnam

Northern Vietnam Fishing

Hai Phong

1. Nam Son ecological area

Add: 2 Cau Street, An Duong Town, Hai Phong

Phone: 090 611 25 79

2. Duong Vy fishing lake

Add: Bao Ha Village, Dong Minh Commune, Vinh Bao District, Hai Phong

3. Song Gia golf resort

Add: Luu Kiem, Thuy Nguyen, Hai Phong

Hanoi

1. Dam Soi fishing lake(300,000 VND/ shift)

Add: Tran Dien, Dinh Cong, Hoang Mai, Hanoi

2. Xuan Que fishing lake (150,000 VND/ day)

Add: Ngoc Thuy, Long Bien, Hanoi

3. Dam Gieng fishing lake (250,000 VND/ shift/ 6 hours)

Add: Doai Khe Village, Dan Phuong, Hanoi

4. Tu Hai fishing lake (300,000 VND/ shift)

Add: Thuong Tin District, Hanoi

5. Mr. Ngo fishing lake (300,000 VND/ shift)

Add: Van Phuc, Thanh Tri, Hanoi

6. Co Xanh ecological area (50,000 VND – 70,000 VND/ hour)

Add: Con Dao area, Nam Hong Commune, Dong Anh, Hanoi

7. Phi Truong fishing lake (50,000 VND – 70,000 VND/ hour)

Add: 24/ 4-T2 Resident, Gia Lam Airport

8. Ly Son fishing lake (50,000 VND – 70,000 VND/ hour)

Add: 380 Linh Nam, Tran Phu, Hoang Mai, Hanoi

9. Tay Thien fishing lake (50,000 VND – 70,000 VND/ hour)

Add: Do Lo Village, Hanoi

10. Noi Bai fishing lake (200,000 VND/ shift/ 4 hours)

Add: Vinh Gia hotel, Vo Nguyen Giap Street, Soc Son, Hanoi

Southern Vietnam Fishing

Binh Duong

1. Phu Cuong Bridge (Thu Dau Mot City)

Phu Cuong Bridge in Thu Dau Mot is a natural fishing place focusing on catfish and tilapia.

Time for fishing: AM – from 6:00 to 10:00; PM – from 3:00 to midnight.

2. Thanh Hoi Bridge

This is a branch of the river flowing to Dong Nai River. There are many kinds of fish here, such as rohu, barb, olyridae, catfish, gobiiformes, etc.

3. Tan Uyen golf course ferry

There are fish here, mainly java barb.

4. Phu Long Communal

This new fishing spot in Vietnam has anabas testudineus, pangasianodon hypophthalmus, and tilapia.

Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

1. Tri Rau fishing area (50,000 VND – 70,000 VND/ hour)

Add: The No. 2 Street, Vuon Lai Road, District 12, HCMC

2. Xuan Huong fishing area

Add: C12/40 Long Vinh, Hamlet 5, Binh Chanh District, HCMC

3. Dong Dieu fishing area

Add: 33/2 Cao Lo, District 8, HCMC

4. Ngoc Linh fishing lake

Add: 558/15/9 Binh Quoi Street, Binh Thanh District, HCMC

5. Ut Phuong fishing area

Add: 78B Canal 1, Binh Tan District, HCMC

Da Nang

1. Xanh lake

Add: Hoang Sa, Tho Quang, Son Tra, Da Nang

2. Khue Trung ecological area (50,000 VND/ hour)

Add: Thang Long Street, under the Cam Le bridge

3. Ba Sen Vang

Add: 644 Trung Nu Vuong

4. Mr. Dich’s lake (30,000 VND – 80,000 VND/ kg)

Add: Dung Si Dien Ngoc street

5. Tren Nui lake (150,000 VND/ kg)

Add: 102 Yet Kieu

6. Mr. Binh’s lake (35,000 VND/ kg)

Add: DT601, Hoa Vang Street

Nha Trang

1. Lam Vien fishing and entertainment area

Add: Vinh Trung, Nha Trang

2. Ba Ho Quan – fishing, entertainment, and local specialties

Add: Resident 1, Phu Binh Village, Vinh Thanh Commune, Nha Trang

3. Ao Thu Quan

Add: Phuong Dong, Nha Trang

4. Ngu Trang Village – go village, go fishing

Add: Xuan Son Village, Vinh Trung, Nha Trang

Phu Quoc

There are various fishing spots in Phu Quoc that tourists always fall in love with so quickly. They are coral reefs on Mong Tay and Doi Moi islands, located north of Duong Dong town, about 40 nautical miles from the town. Dam island, Mui Ong Doi, and Tien well are suitable for fishing from May to October.

In this season, the wind is strong, and the sea is rough, so the following locations are reasonable choices for you to go fishing. There are also many attractive Phu Quoc tourist destinations that you cannot miss on your trip to Vietnam.

To fish, tourists can rent fishing boats in Phu Quoc with only 4 to 6 people per boat.

Besides, here in Phu Quoc, you can have a chance to experience squid fishing at night and many other exciting activities besides fishing, especially scuba diving.

I hope that this article helped provide you with useful and interesting information about the ideal places for fishing in Vietnam. Vietnam is a magnificent country with a lot of exotic scenery and friendly people, so we hope you visit!

This article was written by a Cast & Spear reader who currently lives in Vietnam. I wish I had this before I spent way too much time trying to find fishing spots on my own! I hope you enjoy fishing in Vietnam as much as I did!