I discovered Happy Fish farm by accident when a friend suggested a few hours fishing after we finished work early and we fancied some Hong Kong Fishing action.
Happy Fish farm is a converted fish farm close to Tin Shui Wai in the New Territories of Hong Kong. It stocks Carp, Tilapia, Catfish and Pacu. You can hire fishing gear or bring your own. The cost is about 100 Hong Dollars to fish, or 230 HKD with bait and rod hire ( including a 100 HKD returnable deposit)
Although it is a little Macdonalds style fishing you are assured of some action here. it has Pacu, Mirror and Grass Carp, and even rumors of alligator Gar in there. Although getting those is going to be tricky due to the amount of tilapia in there.
The second time I went fishing there it was 13 decent size tilapia in about 3 hours, see the video below for the keep net at the end and then a few days ago I arrived early and stayed about 6 hours. That day I pulled over 25 / 30 out as well and another 10 or so from my friends as well. from about 1-4 lbs.
If you want to target there other species then you want to fish deeper. they have rods and set up for hire for the very reasonable price of about 3 dollars or 20hkd for the day although obviously some of this kit has seen better days.
Anyway none of this is of use unless you know how to get there. so let’s get you there first.
I am writing this presuming you are already in Hong Kong, as really is not a place that you are going to choose to fly into in the hope of angling! Hong Kong fishing is not the best in the world.
However, if you are here working, or here living you can still get your fishing fix here and one such place is the Happy Fish Farm.
If you want a reason to go you can check out the videos we have on this page showing us catching and the keep nets at the end.
How To Get To Happy Fish Farm.
If you don’t decide to get a taxi all the way from where you are coming from it is possible to get there and back using public transport. To find the decent Hong Kong fishing spots you will always have to travel a little bit off the beaten path.
To do this you need to do the following:
- Get yourself to Tin Shui Wai Mtr Station
- Exit at exit C and turn right to the lift.
- At the bottom walk out and there is a taxi rank about 50 metres down Tin Fuk Road.
- When you are there, unless you speak Chinese, I suggest you download the Take Taxi app and type in Happy Fish farm. ( see the image below) It is on Lau Fau Shan Road
- The taxi ride takes about 10-15 minutes and costs about 60 Hong Kong Dollars ( 8 USD)
Coming back is less easy so you may have to use Uber depending what time you come back as the Mini Bus can be full of commuters.
However the good news is there is a minibus is is the number 33 which stops right out side the Happy Fishing Farm / lake. (don’t do what we did the first time and catch it going the wrong way)
To go back towards Tin Shui Wai you have to catch it when it stops on your side of the road ( direction left if your back is to the lake)
This costs about 6-7 Hong Kong dollars and drops you off outside the Tin Shui Wai MTR station which gets you back to where you need to be.
What To Do When You Get To Happy Fish Farm
There is a shack when you walk in with tables, a rod rack full of fishing rods and likely some Aunties playing Mahjong. Here is where you both pay and collect bait and fishing gear if you need it. They have a collection of rods and set ups to choose from. It is all a little dated / well loved but it works and if it doesn’t they will change it happily. the costs are as follows.
| Fishing Item | Cost |
| Cost for days fishing | 100 Dollars |
| Rod and Gear hire for the day | 20 Dollars |
| Bag of bait ( insanely large bag bread) | 10 Dollars |
| Deposit for the fishing Gear ( you get it back) | 100 Dollars |
As you can see you don’t need your own gear, and the most expensive day it could be is 130 Hong Kong Dollars or about 16 USD. Which for Hong Kong is a pretty great price. The gear is set up for float fishing either on the surface ( recommended if you want none stop action) or about 2/3 ft down. If you have your own equipment you can do any style you like.
The staff / owners will approach you and point to the sign on the wall if you don’t speak Chinese which is in English and lists the same contents as the table above ( written in April 2021) and you can pay them for what ever you need.
Then, if they don’t show you, you can collect a landing net just opposite the toilet on the left , and a keep net (if you want one) is just past the toilet on the right. They are no charge to use this equipment. Once you have all your gear you can go and choose your spot. More on that below.
Picking Your Spot at The Happy Fish Farm / Lake
The lake is set up with seats, tables and umbrellas along a gangway about 3 ft. into the lake. It is a little old but quite sturdy. The umbrellas have certainly seen better days however! My sunburn attests to that! I have fished all over this lake and it seems that there is a a sweet spot (marked on the map) which I will share on the proviso if I turn up when you are there you make room for me as well!)
However people catch all over the lake using all methods as well. The spot we choose to fish seems to hold large schools of tilapia about 12 to 30 ft from the gangway. and casting straight out with floating bread will get you hooked up.
If you are going for carp or bottom feeders then you can also get ground bait from the shack at the entrance and fishing anywhere for these gives you an equal chance.
If you go and its not too busy you can always try another spot as there are not set swims for each angler and you can move around. As Hong Kong fishing spots go this is nicely quiet on weekdays and not too crazy on weekends either.
Fish Species In The Happy Fish Farm
Although Tilapia are the species you will see pulled out the most, it is jam packed with these fast growing fish. However with patience and time you will see other larger species being pulled out. Some of these we list below, and you can check out their website (Chinese) for photos of these.
- Carp: I have pulled out a common carp of about 7lbs on my first trip here. and have seen photos of ones up to about 15lb as well. That would be a good fight on light tackle. There are also mirror carp in here that can be seen basking. Although they will eat the bread bait you are given its not that common, so most fisher man will ground bait and bottom fish for these.
- Tilapia: you can almost walk across the lake on these. It is full of them, as befits its role as a fish farm, and surface fishing on bread will get you some dramatic bites. Don’t be afraid to throw full slices into the water and then cast into the middle of them. You wont over feed this lake at all! The seem to range from about 1lb to about 4-5 lb and there may be some bigger ones in here as well.
- Catfish: You will need to bottom fish for these. I haven’t seen any pulled out in person but a body of water like this will certainly have them.
- Pacu: They are in here some where, or were at least. To a decent 10lb size by the look of them as well. They will eat anything, and may be the reason along with the gar you see some fish jump out of the water. In this lake they are outnumbered by Tilapia who will get to the bait first. It maybe worth moving away from bread and putting some shrimp ( little chunks) on to a sharp hook and pulling it through the water. These look very similar to Red bellied piranha and are equally aggressive so you can take a photo and send it home to have a little fun.
- Alligator Gar: This one is a rumor I will follow up on. You are going to need some dead bait, sharp hooks and patience to try to net this fish. I haven’t seen one just heard there are a few in the lake. With so many other fish they certainly should have some predator fish to keep their numbers in check.
What Gear Do You Need At Happy Fish Farm Hong Kong
Its a lake, about 60 meters long by 40 meters wide. SO no huge casting gear is needed here. for ease when i take my own gear i take telescopic budget rods and a little tackle box to do running repairs as needed. You can check out our article on the best budget telescopic rods ( so much easier on public transport in a busy city.) or you can check out the amazon link below which is the one we have (two versions actually)
We would suggest barbless hooks here to protect the fish, and most of the gear you hire is barbless as well.
Other than that some small weights, shot and a couple of bobbers should do you .
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Methods Of Fishing In Happy Fish Farm
Surface Fishing: This will get you a bag full of tilapia ( just check the video for how big that bag will be!) but that’s about it. I did catch a 5-7lb carp floating about 2ft down and when i have tried boilies on bottom rigs i have had the bait taken but not noticed the bites.
Lure fishing: Not 100% sure if this is permitted here as if its busy its just going to catch other lines and annoy other anglers. I will check with them next time I go. It would be useful to catch Pacu and Gar if it is allowed though.
Bottom fishing: After the initial thrill of hooking a tilapia a cast it might be worth rigging up for a different fish. Carp and cat fish should hang around the bottom to mid water looking for a bite. I have tried boilies but without much success so far, but i am usually a sea angler so not sure how effective my method is.
Drop Shot Fishing: I can see this working quite well if you have a needle fish bait attached or similar. I tried it briefly and got a couple of bites but lost them. In my mind it was a Pacu but of course i cant confirm. I will try this for longer next time.
Tips For Fishing at Happy Fish Farm:
If you are looking for all day action there are a couple of things you can do here. It will be tilapia you catch but if with a new group or just want to have a busy day then take a look at these tips.
- Find a spot close to the area marked on the map above.
- Throw half a slice of bread out straight in front of you about 3 times, and about 20 ft from the gangway.
- used floating bread bait so it stays on the surface.
- make sure the bread bait is about and inch long and a little narrower.
- Double hook the bread so the hook is parallel with the slice of bait.
- when you see the fish take it wait a second or two, they bit quick and sometimes miss it.
- watch both the bread and the hook.
- Strike sharply but not to aggressively and keep the tension on the line
- Use a landing net to bring the fish in.
Other Points To Note.
You can buy the fish you catch for a set price, this changes depending on the fish so make sure you ask them first if you want to take one or two home for dinner.
If you want to catch the minibus back to Tin Shui Wai be warned it may be busy after about 5pm with people coming back from work. Download Uber or similar just in case. You might also get the Staff at Happy fish farm to call a taxi for you .
There are other Fishing lakes next to this one. One is called H.K Old friend fishing. This is a salt water lake with sting rays, Pomelo and loads more. We will be heading there to check it out soon. The link is to their site, which hasn’t been updated for a good while but it gives you an idea.
Happy Fish farm is good for groups and there is a campsite right next to it if you wanted to make a day / night / weekend of it.
