Want to know how to play Big Bass Bonanza and what makes those fish pay out? The key is understanding the Fisherman. He's the one who collects Money Fish, helps unlock extra free spins and applies those all-important multipliers.
Here's how the original Pragmatic Play slot works, what to watch for during the bonus, and a few things worth knowing before you play.
How to Play Big Bass Bonanza 🎣
Big Bass Bonanza keeps things simple: five reels, three rows and 10 fixed paylines. Choose your stake, press Spin, and matching symbols can give you regular line wins.
But it's the free spins that bring the extra features into play. Keep an eye out for the big Bass Scatter symbols:
| Scatters | Free Spins |
|---|---|
| 3 | 10 |
| 4 | 15 |
| 5 | 20 |
Scatters can land anywhere on the reels, so they don't need to line up on a payline. Our screenshot shows four, triggering 15 free spins.
Once the bonus starts, you'll meet the Fisherman. And he's the chap you really want to understand!
How Does the Fisherman Collect Money Fish?
During free spins, fish symbols can land with cash values attached.
🐟 But there's a catch! Money Fish only pay their displayed cash values when a Fisherman Wild lands on the same spin. No Fisherman, no fish collection!
See the £6 and £30 fish? The Fisherman has collected both, giving us £36 from that spin. Once you know what to look for, you can see exactly how that £36 was won.
There's another little trick, too. If a Fisherman lands without any Money Fish, he can sometimes throw dynamite onto the reels, replacing symbols with fish to collect. It's a random feature, though, not something you can activate yourself.
How Do Extra Free Spins and Multipliers Work?
Look along the top of the reels during free spins. That row of Fishermen is your collection meter, and it shows how close you are to the next bonus level.
Every fourth Fisherman collected gives you another 10 free spins and increases the multiplier applied to your fish collections.
| Fishermen Collected | Extra Spins | Collection Multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | +10 | 2x |
| 8 | +10 | 3x |
| 12 | +10 | 10x |
Here's the first retrigger. Four Fishermen have been collected, another 10 free spins have been awarded, and the collection multiplier has increased to 2x.
That means our earlier £36 catch would pay £72 at 2x. The fish values haven't changed, the multiplier just doubles the amount collected.
Just remember that reaching a higher multiplier still doesn't guarantee valuable fish will land alongside a Fisherman.
Tips and Tricks: How to Win on Big Bass Bonanza
- Free spins are the main event. This is where Fishermen collect Money Fish and unlock multipliers, creating the possibility of bigger payouts. You'll need at least three Scatters to trigger the feature, and there's no way to force them to appear.
- Don't expect every bonus to be a big one. You might trigger free spins without collecting many fish. Even reaching the 10x multiplier doesn't guarantee a big payout.
- Check the RTP. The standard figure is 96.71%, but casinos can use different settings. Check the game's information panel.
- Keep your stake comfortable. Higher bets mean bigger potential losses, and previous spins don't affect what happens next.
Big Bass Bonanza's maximum payout is 2,100x your stake, but reaching it is exceptionally rare. In the UK, online slot stakes are capped at £2 per spin for players aged 18–24 and £5 for those aged 25 and over.
Big Bass Bonanza Demo: Try Christmas and Megaways
These two versions put their own spin on the original, and you can try them both below.
Christmas Big Bass Bonanza gives the familiar fish-collection feature a festive makeover. Santa takes the Fisherman's place, but the free spins and collection multipliers will look familiar.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways changes things up with variable reel layouts and tumbling wins. It's not an exact demonstration of the original, but it shows how the series expanded on those early mechanics.
Where to Play Big Bass Bonanza
I recommend Hollywoodbets Casino for playing the original Big Bass Bonanza because it offers the game at 96.71% RTP. That's the highest advertised setting, and not every casino offers it.
That doesn't mean you'll win more in any one session, but a higher RTP means the game is designed to pay back more of the money wagered over the long run.
There are plenty more fish in the sea, though! Check out our guide to casinos where you can play Big Bass Bonanza for more options.
| 1st deposit bonus | 100 bonus spins |
|---|---|
| Minimum deposit for bonus | £10 |
| Extra 1st deposit bonus info | |
|---|---|
| Wagering requirements (bonus money) | 0x |
| Wagering requirements (bonus spins) | 0x |
| Maximum bet for wagering | No limit |
| Maximum cash out | £1,000 |
| Basic information | |
|---|---|
| Launch date | 03/2019 |
| Minimum deposit | £5 |
| Platform | Independent / No platform |
| Sports betting | Yes |
| Live casino | Yes |
| Bingo | No |
