On this page
- What Big Bass Bonanza is
- How a spin works, step by step
- Symbols and paytable
- Free spins and the scatter
- How the fisherman collects money symbols
- Retriggers and the 2x, 3x and 10x multipliers
- A worked bonus example
- Bonus buy
- How to test it in the demo and what to check
- Who Big Bass Bonanza suits
- Big Bass Bonanza free demo
- Big Bass: all editions compared
- Frequently asked questions
What Big Bass Bonanza is
Big Bass Bonanza is the 2020 release that started Pragmatic Play's long fishing series. You get a lake scene, five reels and three rows, and a simple promise: land enough scatters, then let the fisherman haul in fish that carry cash values. There are no cascades, no cluster pays and no expanding grid. That restraint is the point. Every later edition, from Big Bass Splash to Big Bass Bonanza 1000, builds on the collection mechanic you will learn here.
The published return to player is 96.71%. Keep in mind that RTP describes the long run over millions of spins, not what a single session will return. Our RTP guide explains why two players can see very different results on the same figure.
How a spin works, step by step
- Set your stake. The bet covers all 10 lines at once; you do not choose how many lines to play. The minimum and maximum stake are listed in the game rules and depend on the platform.
- The reels stop. Fifteen positions fill with symbols on the 5x3 grid.
- Lines are checked. A win needs three or more matching symbols on one of the 10 fixed paylines, starting from the leftmost reel and running left to right without a gap. The fishing rod is the exception and already pays for two.
- The wild helps. The fisherman is the wild and stands in for regular symbols to complete a line.
- Scatters are counted. Scatters count anywhere on the grid and do not need a line. Three, four or five of them start the free spins.
Wins on different lines are added together. Because there are just 10 lines, a spin without a line hit is common, and that is normal for this format.
Symbols and paytable
The regular symbols split into a premium fishing set and five card values. The table below shows payouts as multiples of your total bet for three, four and five symbols on a line, taken from the in-game paytable.
| Symbol | x3 | x4 | x5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fishing rod | 5x | 20x | 200x |
| Fishing reel | 3x | 15x | 100x |
| Float | 2x | 10x | 50x |
| Tackle box | 2x | 10x | 50x |
| Fish | 1x | 5x | 20x |
| A, K, Q, J, 10 (each) | 0.5x | 2.5x | 10x |
The fishing rod also pays 0.5x for two symbols, which makes it the only symbol that pays on a pair. Five rods on a line return 200 times your bet, so at a 1.00 stake that is 200.00. By contrast, five aces return 10.00 at the same stake. The gap between premium symbols and card values is wide, which is why the base game mostly pays small amounts with the occasional rod or reel line lifting the balance.
Free spins and the scatter
The scatter decides how long the bonus lasts:
- 3 scatters award 10 free spins
- 4 scatters award 15 free spins
- 5 scatters award 20 free spins
The round plays on the same 5x3 grid with the same 10 lines, but two new rules switch on. First, money symbols start to appear. Second, the fisherman wild gains the ability to collect them. If you are new to the format, our free spins guide covers how triggers and retriggers work across slots.
How the fisherman collects money symbols
Money symbols appear only during free spins. Each one shows a cash value, and those values can reach up to 2,000 times your bet. A money symbol on its own pays nothing. It needs a fisherman on the same spin.
When a fisherman wild lands, he collects the value of every money symbol visible on the screen. If two fishermen land together, each one collects, so the same fish are counted twice. A spin with plenty of fish and no fisherman pays only its line wins; a spin with one fish and one fisherman pays that fish. The best spins combine several high values with more than one wild.
Retriggers and the 2x, 3x and 10x multipliers
The game counts every fisherman that lands during the round. Each fourth wild retriggers the feature with 10 more free spins and raises the collection multiplier:
| Wilds collected | Extra spins | Collection multiplier |
|---|---|---|
| 0 to 3 | none | 1x |
| 4 | +10 | 2x |
| 8 | +10 | 3x |
| 12 | +10 | 10x |
The multiplier applies to the money symbol values each fisherman collects after the level is reached. The jump from 3x to 10x is the biggest in the ladder, which is why a bonus that reaches twelve wilds can look very different from one that stalls at seven.
A worked bonus example
Take a 1.00 stake and a trigger with three scatters, so you start with 10 free spins.
- Spin 3: money symbols of 5x, 10x and 2x land with one fisherman. He collects 5 + 10 + 2 = 17 times the bet, so you win 17.00.
- Spins 4 to 8: three more fishermen land with small fish worth a combined 6.00. Your wild count reaches four, you get 10 extra spins and the multiplier rises to 2x.
- Spin 12: fish of 5x, 10x and 2x appear again with one fisherman. The raw collection is still 17x, but at 2x it pays 34.00.
- Spin 15: two fishermen land with a single 20x fish. Each wild collects it, so the raw total is 40x, doubled to 80.00.
That round would return 17.00 + 6.00 + 34.00 + 80.00 = 137.00 from collections, plus any line wins, on a 1.00 stake. The same fish at the 10x level would have paid five times more than at 2x, which shows why the late retriggers matter so much.
Now picture the opposite round: ten spins, two fishermen, neither of them landing next to a fish. That bonus pays only its line wins, perhaps a few times the stake. Both outcomes are ordinary. The spread between a stalled round and one that climbs the ladder is the main reason to size your stake so that one weak bonus does not end the session. When you judge the game, judge it over several features, never over one.
Bonus buy
On platforms that enable it, the bonus buy button starts the free spins straight away for 100 times your bet. In the demo that means 200 at a 2 stake. The buy skips the wait for scatters but not the risk: a bought round with few wilds can return far less than its price. If the button is missing, the operator has switched it off, and the game plays normally without it.
How to test it in the demo and what to check
The free demo above runs the real maths with play credits, so it is the right place to learn the rhythm before any stake.
- Open the rules screen first and check the RTP figure. It should read 96.71%; if it shows a lower number, that platform runs a different configuration.
- Note the minimum and maximum bet listed there, since they vary by platform.
- Play a few hundred spins at one stake and count how often the free spins arrive. That gives you a feel for how long a real bankroll needs to last.
- Buy two or three bonuses in the demo to see how widely results spread between rounds with few wilds and rounds that reach 2x or 3x.
Pick a stake that lets your budget cover a long dry spell. The feature carries most of the value, and you cannot control when it lands.
Who Big Bass Bonanza suits
This is the slot for players who want one mechanic they can read at a glance: fish carry cash, the fisherman collects, four wilds raise the multiplier. If you prefer a busier bonus with random pre-feature modifiers, Big Bass Splash adds them on the same foundation, while Big Bass Bonanza 1000 raises the stakes with a stated maximum win of 20,000x and a second, more expensive buy option. The original remains the cleanest way to understand the whole family.
Big Bass: all editions compared
| Edition | Release | Max win | RTP | Pays | Bonus buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Bass Bonanza (you are here) | 2020 | — | 96.71% | 10 paylines | 100x |
| Big Bass Splash | — | — | 96.71% | 10 paylines | 100x |
| Big Bass Bonanza 1000 | 2025 | 20,000x | 96.51% | 10 paylines | 100x / 450x |
| Big Bass Bonanza Megaways | — | — | 96.70% | Megaways | 100x |
| Christmas Big Bass Bonanza | — | — | 96.71% | 10 paylines | — |
| Big Bass Vegas Double Down Deluxe | 2024 | 5,000x | 96.50% | 10 paylines | 100x / 300x |
| Bigger Bass Bonanza | 2021 | 4,000x | 96.71% | 12 paylines | — |
Where to play Big Bass Bonanza for real money
Frequently asked questions
What is the RTP of Big Bass Bonanza?
The published RTP of Big Bass Bonanza is 96.71%. It is a long-run average across a huge number of spins, so a single session can land far above or below it. Check the rules screen of the game on your platform to confirm the figure it runs.
How many free spins can I get in Big Bass Bonanza?
Three scatters award 10 free spins, four award 15 and five award 20. During the round every fourth fisherman wild adds 10 more spins, and this can happen three times, each time raising the collection multiplier.
How do money symbols work?
Money symbols appear only during free spins and each shows a cash value of up to 2,000 times the bet. They pay only when a fisherman wild lands on the same spin, and he collects the value of every money symbol visible on the screen.
What are the multipliers in the bonus?
The game counts fisherman wilds during free spins. The fourth wild adds 10 spins and a 2x multiplier on collections, the eighth raises it to 3x, and the twelfth raises it to 10x, each time with 10 extra spins.
What is the highest paying symbol?
The fishing rod is the top regular symbol. It pays 0.5x the bet for two, 5x for three, 20x for four and 200x for five on a line. It is also the only symbol that pays for two of a kind.
How much does the bonus buy cost?
Where the platform enables it, the bonus buy costs 100 times your bet, for example 200 at a 2 stake in the demo. Some operators switch the option off, in which case the button does not appear.
When was Big Bass Bonanza released?
Big Bass Bonanza was released by Pragmatic Play in 2020. It became the first title of the Big Bass series, and later editions such as Big Bass Splash and Big Bass Bonanza 1000 reuse its fisherman collection mechanic.
