Big Bass Bonanza: follow the Fisherman's collection ladder
Big Bass Bonanza turns ten fixed paylines into a fishing feature where every Fisherman collects the cash values of all fish on screen.
Collect four Fishermen and the next batch adds ten spins at 2x, followed by 3x and 10x on later retriggers. That visible progression is the appeal of the original 5x3 game from Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom.
The base game is straightforward to read. Floats, rods, dragonflies, tackle boxes and card symbols pay along fixed paths; the hooked bass opens free spins. During the feature, a fish can contribute an ordinary line win and also carry a cash amount for the Fisherman to collect. Those two payments need different calculations.
Pragmatic Play launched the original on 14 December 2020. Choose it for a compact reel layout and a feature that advances through collector milestones. Its later namesakes have their own rules: adding Megaways, 1000 or Keeping It Reel to the title changes the game you are choosing.
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Casino overviewBig Bass Bonanza is listed in this casino’s game catalogue.
Exact title listedPragmatic PlayCasino review
Casino overviewBig Bass Bonanza is listed in this casino’s game catalogue.
Exact title listedPragmatic PlayCasino review
Casino overviewBig Bass Bonanza is listed in this casino’s game catalogue.
Exact title listedPragmatic PlayCasino review
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A fish can pay in two different ways
Ordinary wins start on reel 1 and continue across adjacent reels from left to right along an active payline. Most symbols need at least three matches; the float also pays for two. Matching fish scattered across unrelated positions do not form a line win merely because there are three of them.
The fish symbol has a second role as a Money symbol. Each spin assigns it a random cash value. That printed value is collected during free spins when a Fisherman appears on the same screen. In the base game, use the ordinary fish paytable for a qualifying line; a visible cash label does not by itself credit that cash amount.
- Fisherman Wild
- The Fisherman is the Wild and appears on all reels during free spins. It substitutes for ordinary symbols to complete the best qualifying line, with Scatter excluded from substitution. Wild has no separate symbol-count payout of its own.
- Bass Scatter
- The hooked bass marked Scatter can appear on every reel and triggers the feature anywhere, without needing a payline.
If you follow only one distinction while learning the original, make it this one: a fish's line award comes from its match count, while its cash collection comes from the displayed amount, the number of Fishermen and the current collection multiplier.
Ten line paths, all paid by one total stake
The original has five reels and three rows, with all ten paylines fixed. Changing the bet changes the amount staked across those lines; it does not let you activate fewer lines. A payline can bend between rows, so read the highlighted path rather than just counting identical symbols across the whole grid.
The paths run from reel 1 to reel 5. Top, middle and bottom below refer to the three visible rows:
Line 1
- Reel 1
- Middle
- Reel 2
- Middle
- Reel 3
- Middle
- Reel 4
- Middle
- Reel 5
- Middle
Line 2
- Reel 1
- Top
- Reel 2
- Top
- Reel 3
- Top
- Reel 4
- Top
- Reel 5
- Top
Line 3
- Reel 1
- Bottom
- Reel 2
- Bottom
- Reel 3
- Bottom
- Reel 4
- Bottom
- Reel 5
- Bottom
Line 4
- Reel 1
- Top
- Reel 2
- Middle
- Reel 3
- Bottom
- Reel 4
- Middle
- Reel 5
- Top
Line 5
- Reel 1
- Bottom
- Reel 2
- Middle
- Reel 3
- Top
- Reel 4
- Middle
- Reel 5
- Bottom
Line 6
- Reel 1
- Middle
- Reel 2
- Top
- Reel 3
- Top
- Reel 4
- Top
- Reel 5
- Middle
Line 7
- Reel 1
- Middle
- Reel 2
- Bottom
- Reel 3
- Bottom
- Reel 4
- Bottom
- Reel 5
- Middle
Line 8
- Reel 1
- Top
- Reel 2
- Top
- Reel 3
- Middle
- Reel 4
- Bottom
- Reel 5
- Bottom
Line 9
- Reel 1
- Bottom
- Reel 2
- Bottom
- Reel 3
- Middle
- Reel 4
- Top
- Reel 5
- Top
Line 10
- Reel 1
- Top
- Reel 2
- Middle
- Reel 3
- Middle
- Reel 4
- Middle
- Reel 5
- Top
Only the highest qualifying award on a given line pays. A five-float line receives the five-symbol award, without also adding the two-, three- and four-float awards for that same line. Awards from different winning paylines add together, subject to the round limit.
The complete paytable in total-stake multiples
Every ordinary payout here multiplies your total stake for one spin. The game's help may instead show coefficients against the bet per line. With ten fixed lines, a line stake is one tenth of the total stake, so the numerical coefficients in that view are ten times larger. The resulting cash award is the same.
Float
- 2 matching
- 0.5x
- 3 matching
- 5x
- 4 matching
- 20x
- 5 matching
- 200x
Fishing rod
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 3x
- 4 matching
- 15x
- 5 matching
- 100x
Dragonfly
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 2x
- 4 matching
- 10x
- 5 matching
- 50x
Tackle box
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 2x
- 4 matching
- 10x
- 5 matching
- 50x
Fish / Money
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 1x
- 4 matching
- 5x
- 5 matching
- 20x
A
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 0.5x
- 4 matching
- 2.5x
- 5 matching
- 10x
K
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 0.5x
- 4 matching
- 2.5x
- 5 matching
- 10x
Q
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 0.5x
- 4 matching
- 2.5x
- 5 matching
- 10x
J
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 0.5x
- 4 matching
- 2.5x
- 5 matching
- 10x
10
- 2 matching
- No award
- 3 matching
- 0.5x
- 4 matching
- 2.5x
- 5 matching
- 10x
For a hypothetical award, take a €1 total stake and one winning line of five floats. The total-stake calculation is 200 × €1 = €200. In a line-stake view, €1 divided across ten lines gives €0.10 per line, and 2,000 × €0.10 also gives €200. Multiplying the line coefficient of 2,000 by the entire €1 would overstate the award tenfold.
Small ordinary wins can return less than the stake. Two floats at a €1 total stake pay €0.50 on that line. Read the total win against the stake after all winning lines have been added; a highlighted combination tells you that a line paid, not that the whole spin made a profit.
Scatter has a spin award instead of an ordinary cash row. Two Scatters award no feature; three award ten free spins, four award fifteen and five award twenty. Fisherman Wild has no independent two-, three-, four- or five-symbol cash award. Its substitution and collection functions apply during free spins.
Four Fishermen open the next collection stage
Land three or more Scatters anywhere to begin the feature. Three, four and five Scatters award 10, 15 and 20 initial spins respectively. Free spins use the stake of the triggering spin and deduct no additional stake. The feature uses special reels, and every Fisherman Wild collects every Money Fish value currently visible.
Fishermen also accumulate in the feature's progress meter. The fourth collected Wild awards a further ten spins with a 2x collection multiplier. The eighth awards ten at 3x, and the twelfth awards ten at 10x. These are cumulative milestones: each additional group of four earns the next permitted retrigger.
Extra batches start after the preceding batch ends.
The raised multiplier belongs to the newly awarded batch. That batch starts after the preceding batch finishes. Reaching the fourth Fisherman does not turn the already completed collection into a 2x payment, and the multiplier does not retroactively apply to earlier spins.
The ladder has a definite end. After the third retrigger there are no further retriggers, even if more Fishermen appear. Their collection role still applies during the remaining spins. With all three milestones achieved, the original allocation can reach 40 spins after a three-Scatter entry, 45 after four Scatters or 50 after five. Reaching the maximum-win cap can end the round before those allocated spins are played.
With exactly one Wild visible, additional Money Fish can randomly appear at the end of a free spin. The original game's dynamite animation represents the extra-fish opportunity when a Fisherman has arrived without fish. It is a possible event, so a lone Fisherman does not guarantee a catch or a further spin award.
Count the collectors before multiplying the catch
Each Fisherman collects the whole displayed fish sum. Several Fishermen on one screen therefore collect that same sum several times. The batch multiplier then scales the fish collection:
Fish collection = sum of displayed fish cash values × Fishermen on screen × collection multiplier.
For a hypothetical free spin in the 3x batch, assume a €1 triggering stake, two displayed fish valued at €5 and €20, and two Fishermen. The fish sum is €25. Two collectors make €50; the 3x batch multiplier makes the collection €150. Any qualifying ordinary line award is evaluated separately, and the combined round remains subject to its cap.
The numbers €5 and €20 are illustrative displayed amounts, not an exhaustive list of possible fish values. The original's product description advertises Money-symbol values up to 2,000x. That upper fish-value figure differs from the round's total maximum: it does not guarantee a 2,000x fish, a collector beside it or another multiplier above the round cap.
Keep the stage multiplier attached to the collection calculation. The 10x stage is a fish-collection multiplier, so multiplying every ordinary line payout by ten would apply the feature to the wrong payment.
The 2,100x limit can finish a feature early
The original English help configuration caps the total round award at 2,100 times the total stake. Once the round reaches that amount, it ends, pays up to the cap and forfeits remaining free spins or features. A large displayed fish combined with several collectors is still governed by that final limit.
At a hypothetical €1 total stake in this capped configuration, the maximum gross round award is €1 × 2,100 = €2,100. This is the limit on the award, not a predicted result. It also explains why fifty allocated spins and fifty played spins can be different numbers.
The EUR rules for version cv60-1.0.50659 list stakes of €0.10 to €250 and a monetary maximum of €525,000. Those are the limits for that EUR configuration, not an amount attached to every stake or every casino. The help setting displaying £ separately lists £0.10 to £250. Compare the limit and currency in the game you choose; neither range establishes a PLN denomination.
Read the RTP beside the game you open
Pragmatic Play's catalogue lists 96.71% RTP for Big Bass Bonanza. A documented help setting displaying £ shows 90.63%. They are separate return configurations, so the catalogue figure should not be treated as the setting of every game bearing the original title.
RTP is a theoretical long-run return over accumulated stakes. For a mathematical illustration with €100 of total turnover, 96.71% corresponds to €96.71 of theoretical returns and a €3.29 difference. At 90.63%, the same turnover corresponds to €90.63 and a €9.37 difference. The €6.08 gap describes the arithmetic of those percentages, not a loss forecast for a particular €100 session.
- Catalogue return example
- €96.71 of €100 turnover
96.71% theoretical RTP.
- £ setting return example
- €90.63 of €100 turnover
90.63% theoretical RTP; EUR used for illustrative arithmetic only.
- Theoretical return difference
- €6.08
A long-run calculation, not a session forecast.
Turnover can include winnings staked again, so €100 of turnover need not mean a €100 starting deposit. Short sessions can finish far above or below the theoretical return. Neither percentage tells you how many spins will pass before three Scatters, the chance of completing the collector ladder or the probability of reaching 2,100x.
The high-volatility label describes less regular payouts and greater variation in their size: returns can be uneven, rather than a steady stream of similar awards. The help displaying £ shows four yellow lightning marks out of five. This matters if you prefer frequent, modest returns to the possibility of larger collections. A feature can finish without reaching the higher stages, and the label gives no numerical hit rate or guaranteed waiting time. It cannot tell you when a larger award will arrive.
The information button marked i opens the paytable and help. Read the RTP there alongside the currency, stake and maximum-win rules of the actual configuration. A demo can explain how the collector works; its balance and results cannot predict a future real-money session.
Open the original demo and recognise its controls
The Pragmatic Play Big Bass Bonanza product page provides the original game's demo. It opens on the provider's website, where access to the embedded game depends on its controls and access conditions. Use the full original title to distinguish it from a result carrying an extra edition name.
The original supports mobile play with the same rules, stakes and winnings as its corresponding desktop configuration. Buttons and information panels can adapt to the device. Mobile support does not turn the slot title into proof that a separately advertised download or stand-alone app is the same product.
The BET label shows the total stake. Its stake menu lets you change coins per line and coin value while the number of lines stays at ten. CREDIT and BET can switch between cash and coin views. Use the cash value when comparing a stake with the examples above; a coin display needs its denomination before it can be read as money.
- The settings menu controls the intro screen, ambient sound, sound effects and game history. The information panel has page navigation and a close control. The documented desktop interface also uses Space and Enter to start and stop a spin. These controls manage presentation and play; they do not change a paytable award or supply a winning strategy.
- Where autoplay is available in the chosen interface, its menu selects a number of automatic spins. The documented stop settings cover any win, a feature being won, a single win above a chosen amount, and balance increases or decreases beyond chosen amounts. Skip Screens only skips feature introduction and end screens after a short interval. A stopping rule is a control over when automatic play ends, without improving the return of an individual spin.
Choose the original for its finite collection ladder
Big Bass Bonanza is a clear fit when you want conventional paylines before a collector feature that visibly progresses. The float's two-symbol award is easy to recognise, the fish has two distinct payment roles, and each four-Fisherman milestone gives the next batch a purpose. The tradeoff is that extra spins and the higher collection multipliers have to be earned within the feature, with a final round cap.
- For cascades: Megaways
- If you want more movement between wins, Big Bass Bonanza Megaways replaces the original's ten fixed paths with six variable reels and up to 46,656 ways. In its base game, winning symbols disappear and replacements can make further wins in the same round. Choose it for changing reel heights and cascades; choose the original for the simpler task of following ten known line paths.
- For a separate respin bonus: Hold & Spinner
- Big Bass - Hold & Spinner keeps five reels, three rows and ten fixed lines, and adds a separate Money-symbol respin bonus. Three or more Money symbols anywhere trigger it. They hold in place, and each newly landed Money symbol restores four lives. Choose that edition if you want a second bonus route beside Fisherman free spins. Choose the original if the finite collector ladder is the feature you want to concentrate on.
Big Bass Bonanza 1000, Keeping It Reel, Big Bass Splash and Christmas Big Bass Bonanza are also separate edition choices. Read each full title and its own paytable, triggers and limits before choosing it.
- Casino promotional free spins
- For casino play, the game rules and the account offer are separate decisions. Promotional free spins from a casino can have an eligibility rule, stake denomination and wagering requirement of their own. The in-game award of ten, fifteen or twenty spins does not create a casino signup code or a no-deposit promotion.
The Vavada casino review explains its wider catalogue, account choices and bonus conditions. Assess the casino's account and offers separately from the original's collection mechanics, then compare the exact title and RTP panel of the game you choose.
Vavada
Slots and live games from Pragmatic Play, Evolution Gaming and Hacksaw Gaming, with monthly cashback and six account statuses.
- Cashback
- 10% of cumulative net losses, less prior cashback; x5 wageringCalculated from account debits minus credits, less cashback already paid.
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Browse the slots catalogue for a different reel or feature style.
Use the game RTP guide to compare the information panel of the version you open.
Questions and answers
Why are Big Bass Bonanza's fish cash values not paid on every spin?
A fish's displayed cash amount is collected during free spins when a Fisherman is on the same screen. Each Fisherman collects the full visible fish sum, and the current collection multiplier scales that amount. Ordinary fish line wins are calculated separately; a cash label in the base game does not itself pay that amount.
When does the original Big Bass Bonanza's 10x collection multiplier start?
The fourth, eighth and twelfth collected Fishermen earn ten additional spins at 2x, 3x and 10x collection respectively. Each new batch starts after the previous batch ends, so the higher multiplier does not apply retroactively. After the third retrigger, further Fishermen do not earn another batch.
What are the original Big Bass Bonanza's RTP settings and round limit?
Pragmatic Play's catalogue gives the original 96.71% RTP; a separate documented £ help setting shows 90.63%. The original English help configuration caps a round at 2,100 times the total stake and ends remaining spins or features when that cap is reached. The catalogue RTP is not the setting of every instance.
