Top 10 Fishing Spots in Cambodia
Cambodia sits at the hydrological heart of Southeast Asia. The Mekong River enters from Laos in the north, crosses the country diagonally, and empties into the South China Sea through the vast delta in southern Vietnam. But the truly extraordinary feature of Cambodia's freshwater geography is the Tonle Sap: a great lake connected to the Mekong by a reversing river — the Tonle Sap River — that flows into the Mekong during the dry season and reverses to flow backward into the lake when the Mekong floods in July and August. This annual pulse expands the Tonle Sap from roughly 2,500 km² at its minimum to over 16,000 km² at peak flood, making it one of the most productive freshwater fisheries on earth. Giant barb, giant catfish, and giant freshwater stingray — species collectively called the Mekong giant fish — are increasingly rare but still present, making Cambodia a destination of global significance for serious freshwater anglers.
Giant Freshwater Stingray on the Mekong
The giant freshwater stingray (Urogymnus polylepis) is the world's largest freshwater fish by weight, with verified specimens exceeding 300 kilograms and a wingspan approaching three metres. The Mekong between Stung Treng and Kratie is the species' most reliable remaining habitat in Cambodia. Fishing for stingrays here requires heavy catfish gear — 200-kilogram-rated mainline, large hook rigs baited with freshwater shrimp or fish — and a permit from the local fisheries authority. All stingrays must be released after capture and tagging under a programme coordinated by the Wonders of the Mekong research project.
Kratie Dolphin Pool Catfish
Near Kampi, 15 kilometres north of Kratie town on the Mekong, a deep pool beside the river protects the last remnant population of Irrawaddy dolphins in Cambodia — and holds massive catfish in its deep current channels. The Mekong giant catfish (Pangasianodon gigas) and its relatives inhabit this stretch in decreasing but still significant numbers. Day fishing permits are available from the Kratie provincial fisheries office. The Fishing Vat Roka area, upstream of Kampi, is a traditional fishing ground where community fishermen manage access rights under a formal co-management agreement.
Tonle Sap Lake
The Tonle Sap Lake's extraordinary seasonal productivity supports one of the densest freshwater fisheries anywhere. Sport fishing in the lake and its fringing flooded forest (known locally as boeung) targets snakehead, featherback, and giant gourami. The lake is most accessible near Siem Reap, the gateway town to Angkor Wat, where boat operators offer half-day and full-day fishing sessions on the lake's western reaches. Traditional traps and lifting nets used by the lake's floating village communities create a visual backdrop unlike any other fishing destination in Asia.
Cardamom Mountains Streams
The Cardamom Mountains in southwestern Cambodia form the country's highest range, rising to 1,813 metres at Phnom Aoral. Streams draining from the mountains through Koh Kong province hold native mahseer species (Tor spp.), barb, and snakehead in their lower reaches. These are genuinely remote waters — access requires four-wheel drive vehicles and at least one overnight in the mountains — but the reward is fishing in a near-pristine environment protected by a combination of national park status and the operational presence of Conservation International and Wildlife Alliance.
Mekong at Phnom Penh
The Mekong at Phnom Penh, where it meets the Tonle Sap River at the Quatre Bras junction, is an intense zone of fish movement during both the seasonal rise and fall of water levels. Catfish in the 10 to 40 kilogram range move through these channels in large numbers. The Golden Fishing Rod, a well-established fishing venue on the Tonle Sap River just upstream of the junction, provides organised bank fishing with equipment hire and a cafe. Evening sessions during the September-to-November drawdown period are particularly productive for large catfish on groundbait.
Stung Sen River
The Stung Sen River drains the Phnom Kulen plateau and flows through Kompong Thom province to enter the Tonle Sap. Its lower reaches hold snakehead, giant gourami, and featherback carp in quantities that make it one of Cambodia's better day-fishing rivers for visitors based in Phnom Penh. The river runs through agricultural lowland, with oxbow lakes visible from the road providing additional fishing spots outside formal angling hours.
Koh Kong Coastal Waters
The coast of Koh Kong province, in southwestern Cambodia, faces the Gulf of Thailand with a series of mangrove-fringed estuaries and offshore islands. Barramundi, mangrove jack, and queenfish move through the estuaries on tidal cycles, while grouper and coral trout inhabit the reefs off the offshore islands. Fishing boat operators in Koh Kong town offer both estuarine and offshore trips. The nearest significant reef, the Koh Kong islands group, lies within a protected marine area where hook-and-line fishing for recreational purposes is permitted.
Mekong at Kampong Cham
Kampong Cham, a provincial capital 120 kilometres north of Phnom Penh on the Mekong, has a well-developed riverfront fishing scene with local guides and boats available for hire. The Mekong here is broad and fast, running over sandy bars between rocky outcrops where catfish, Asian redtail catfish (Hemibagrus wyckioides), and large carp species congregate. October and November, as water levels fall from the monsoon peak, is the most productive season.
Bokor National Park Waterfalls
The Bokor Plateau in Kampot province rises to 1,080 metres and feeds several streams that tumble as waterfalls off the plateau escarpment near Bokor National Park. The streams hold native barb species and, in their lower reaches near the town of Kampot, snakehead and catfish accessible to day visitors from Kampot or Sihanoukville. The setting — colonial-era ruins, dense mist forest, and sudden waterfalls — makes fishing here an experience beyond the fish themselves.
Explore on the map
From the giant stingray pools of Kratie to the seasonal abundance of the Tonle Sap and the marine waters of Koh Kong's coast, Cambodia's fishing geography is among the most remarkable in Southeast Asia. Find your next Cambodian fishing spot on the map and explore Cambodia on the map to navigate this extraordinary freshwater kingdom.