Group living is a widespread social phenomenon in animals (e.g., insect swarms, fish shoals, bird flocks, and mammal herds), and their collective behavior is affected by various environmental factors. Intensive human activities, such as angling, have different effects on the group structure and function of the targeted fish shoals. To investigate the effects of angling stress on the collective behavior of cyprinid fish, healthy juvenile Qingbo (Spinibarbus sinensis) with similar body mass were selected as the experimental fish. Our study included two angling treatments (control and angling stress), with each treatment being performed on 18 fish shoals comprising six observers. The collective behavior of shoals subjected to the two treatments in an open water environment was initially videotaped for 15 min before the angling stress (day 0) and again after 14 days of angling stress. The fish in the angling stress group were fished daily for 14 days, whereas those in the control group were not subjected to angling stress. Our results revealed that angling stress can increase the swimming speed of Qingbo individuals and their total individual movement distance; however, it reduced the synchronization of speed. Additionally, angling stress was found to increase both the inter-individual distance and nearest neighbor distance of Qingbo. However, it had no significant effect on the group speed or percentage of time spent on movement in this fish species. Therefore, angling stress could lead to a decline in the group polarization of Qingbo. Furthermore, we detected a negative correlation between the nearest-neighbor distance and group polarization of Qingbo, and the intensity of this correlation was enhanced by angling stress. Our findings suggest that angling stress can reduce the coordination and cohesion of Qingbo shoals, which may have negative effects on information exchange and transmission during group movement. Moreover, in this fish species, the strength of the trade-off between group cohesion and coordination could be enhanced under angling stress.