Big Bass Bonanza slot review
If you have a passing interest in slots, there’s a strong chance you’ve heard of the Big Bass Bonanza slot game, one of Pragmatic Play’s most notable and well-established titles.
I went back to test its RTP, payouts, and Free Spins, which I assess below. I’ll also be rating the slot’s different elements and pointing out the Ontario casinos where you can play the game in this Big Bass Bonanza slot review.
Expert verdict
Pragmatic Play adding several instalments is always a sign that a game has done well, so for me to state that Big Bass Bonanza falls short of some of the studio’s other iconic titles is a bit harsh.
Although this video slot didn’t set the world on fire with its max jackpot of 2,100x (the industry average is around 5,000x), it continues to find a substantial audience and has undergone several changes compared to its original 2020 release.
Still, the 10 paylines and 5×3 grid don’t do much for me since the bonus features come off as limited. I appreciate the simple layout but I’d have preferred less basic gameplay.
Overall, it’s worth checking out, even if it doesn’t keep you coming back. It has a great range of stakes, and as far as fishing-themed games go, it’s up there as one of the most recognizable. It’s one of the most popular slot games of the decade for a reason.
- Part of an extended series
- Clean and intuitive layout
- Suited for low and high stakes
- Limited gameplay
- Low maximum win
- Dated audiovisuals
Where to play Big Bass Bonanza: my top three picks
Big Bass Bonanza is one of Pragmatic Play’s major titles, so you’ll be spoilt for choice when it comes to finding a casino where you can play or demo the slot. If you need some guidance, here are my three top picks.
| Casino logo | Rating | Bonus | Go-to-casino button | Show more | T&Cs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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1
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93/100 Expert Rating by Elena I. 92% Playscore based on |
Reliable and award-winning operator
|
Play players accepted |
Good to know
7 payment methods 
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2
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86/100 Expert Rating by Elsa F. 84% Playscore based on |
Most trusted online casino
|
Play players accepted |
Good to know
10 payment methods
|
bet365 operates pursuant to an agreement with iGaming Ontario. #ad |
3
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88/100 Expert Rating by Elsa F. 85% Playscore based on |
Excellent choice of providers
|
Play players accepted |
Good to know
6 payment methods
|
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1
|
87/100 Expert Rating by Elena I. 89% Playscore based on |
5,000 WoW Coins + 1 Sweepstake Coin
|
Play players accepted |
Good to know
5 payment methods
|
|
2
|
87/100 Expert Rating by Elena I. 83% Playscore based on |
250 Gold Coins + 5 Sweeps Coins and 600 Diamonds
|
Play players accepted |
Good to know
4 payment methods
|
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3
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84/100 Expert Rating by Elsa F. 87% Playscore based on |
500 Free Fortune Coins
|
Play players accepted |
4 payment methods
|
|
4
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74/100 Expert Rating by Elena I. 84% Playscore based on |
Up to 1,000 Virtual Credits
|
Play players accepted |
Good to know
1 payment methods
|
The first spot goes to bet365, which offers 1,800+ slots, fast withdrawals, and free demo play to registered users.
Next up and with 70+ game studios on board, Casumo promises great software provider variety for its slot collection.
Last, but not least, FireVegas is a great option for Pragmatic Play fans and the full suite of games is available on mobile.
If you’re not sure which casino to go for, our in-depth guide to Canada’s best online slot casinos will get you sorted.
Big Bass Bonanza RTP and volatility
Big Bass Bonanza’s medium-high volatility level indicates generally large but infrequent wins.
The max win stands at 2,100x your stake, which cashes out anywhere between C$250 – C$525,000, depending on whether you went for a minimum or maximum bet.
Payout facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| RTP | 96.71% |
| Maximum win | 2,100x |
| Highest-paying symbol | Fishing Float |
| Volatility | Medium-high |
The return-to-player (RTP) percentage stands at 96.71%. The lowest wins come with the letter and number symbols, which award 0.5x, 2.5x, or 10x your stake if you land three, four, or five adjacent symbols, left-to-right.
The Fishing Float is the highest paying symbol and rakes in wins starting at two symbols. Wins can come in at 0.5x, 5x, 20x, or 200x your stake for two, three, four, or five adjacent symbols.
Payouts rating
- Can play at a leisurely pace
- RTP is above average
- High base payouts
- Low 2,100x max win
- Many low-paying symbols
- No additional bonus payouts
Nothing captures the imagination with the max win amount; it’s not an area where Big Bass Bonanza stands out. Yes, the 96.71% is above average, but that pales in comparison to the 98% RTP that comes with Blood Suckers.
It’s not that this game does anything poorly, either. As with so many fishing-themed slots that have come before, Big Bass Bonanza really drills home the theme. But other than the Free Spins, there are no additional one-off bonus features to write home about.
Despite how many low-paying symbols there are, the base game payouts can be relatively high. Three Firefly and Fishing Box symbols landed me double my bet to start off with, while the Fishing Rod symbol earned me a 3x minimum payout.
The Fishing Float is the highest-paying symbol, which offers a C$200 minimum-bet win if five or more are unlocked across a payline. For me, this particular catch remained elusive.
Big Bass Bonanza paytable and bets
Players can enter the game with a C$0.10 minimum bet or max out with a C$250 stake limit. The individual coin value varies between C$0.01 and C$2.50 per line.
The default is set to C$1, but you can adjust your wager by pressing the minus and plus buttons.
Stake facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Minimum bet | C$0.10 |
| Maximum bet | C$250 |
| Adjustable paylines | N/A |
| Bet per line | C$0.01 |
| Buy feature | N/A |
There are 10, non-adjustable paylines in Big Bass Bonanza, which pay from left to right. Scoring on multiple paylines will see your wins adding up to one total.
The game doesn’t come with a buy feature.
Stake limits rating
- C$0.10 minimum bet
- C$250 maximum bet
- 10 paylines are pretty low
- No adjustable paylines
One element of Pragmatic Play that helps their games stand out in such a sea of competition (fishing pun intended) is offering a broad range of wagering options.
Although minimum payment slots are starting to gain ground in the slot gaming world, one of the quintessential features of any Pragmatic Play game, whether a fishing slot or another design, is the excellent span of minimum and maximum bet options.
I like having the option to go for a budget-friendly minimum bet of C$0.10 on Big Bass Bonanza, but it goes all the way up to C$250 for high-rollers.
What I didn’t like is that I only had the 10 paylines to work with and they weren’t adjustable. None of the chapters in the Big Bass franchise have adjustable paylines, but there is a Megaways version which I prefer.
Free Spins and bonus features
Big Bass Bonanza has one main bonus feature, during which other features are also triggered.
The Free Spins round is triggered when you land three or more Leaping Bass Scatter symbols. Three scatters earn you 10 spins, four scatters get you 15, and the full-show of five scatters gets you 20 spins.
Feature facts
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Wilds | Yes |
| Scatters | Yes |
| Other special symbols | Fisherman Wild and the Scatter symbol |
| Gamble feature | N/A |
| Reel features | N/A |
| Free spins | Yes |
| Respins | Yes |
| Multipliers | Yes |
| Other bonus features | N/A |
In the Free Spins round, the Fisherman symbol acts as a Wild which collects the prizes attached to the Fish Money symbols you land on the same spin.
Every fourth Wild that turns up retriggers the Free Spins feature and awards you another 10 free rounds, each time increasing the Money Multiplier. The multiplier is set to 2x in the first retrigger, 3x in the second, and 10x in the third.
Finally, the random Dynamite feature, which can be triggered at the end of a free spin, adds random Fish Money symbols to the reels.
Bonus features rating
- Cumulative bonuses
- Free Spins unlocks more features
- No gamble features
- Only four bonus features
- Features limited to Free Spins rounds
Sorry, Big Bass Bonanza fans, I’ve thrown the gauntlet down by rating their bonus features 42/100. Honestly? I’m not too big on the speed of the bonus game. After countless spins and a waning budget, I only managed a meagre recovery on 10 free spins.
It moves at a snail’s pace as it collects the Fisherman symbols at the top. It seems pointlessly slow and rather futile, given that the average max jackpot is miles behind some of the other prominent fishing-themed slot titles.
For example, I much prefer the variety of features in Big Bass Hold & Spinner Megaways, where the feature can crank up 20,000x your max bet. Blueprint Gaming’s Fishin’ Frenzy Prize Lines also has interesting game mechanics and a 50,000x jackpot.
To compound this, there’s no gamble feature, reel features, or additional jackpots. In defence of Pragmatic Play, they did address this with later Big Bass instalments.
Slot theme and audiovisuals
The fishing theme is applied consistently throughout the slot, as is reflected in the symbols and audiovisuals.
The game’s animations can be spotted when a reel lands winning symbols. The graphics are accompanied by a cheerful summer tune and underwater-ambient sounds.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Theme | Fishing |
| Graphics | Good |
| Animations | Yes |
| Sound quality | Very good |
| Mobile compatibility | Good |
Effects run smoothly throughout, though larger, high-stakes wins can slow down the visuals.
The audiovisual performance is consistent on both desktop and mobile.
Audiovisuals rating
- Largely smooth animation
- Breezy, ambient music
- Basic background and music
- Dated feel
Fishing-themed slots have found a solid audience over the years because they are pleasant games to play. They do not have the sort of excessive, loud rumblings of other genres. They exemplify the tranquility and breezy tempo that is (usually) the way people fish.
Big Bass Bonanza has interwoven acoustic guitars strumming over the sound of a xylophone. It’s simple, which is good, but potentially underwhelming for some tastes, contributing to the overall dated feel of the audiovisual experience here.
Visually, it’s more of the same easygoing imagery against a clear, underwater ocean backdrop. Though it falls short of other fishing games with a sea of life behind them, Big Bass relies on its simplicity in every other area of its design, so to overdo it with the background design would be out of place.
Game layout
Big Bass Bonanza is a classic five-reel, three-row video slot. Below the reels, a selection of icons lets you check and adjust your credit or bet and start spinning.
Clicking on the information icon will bring up a pop-up menu describing the slot’s functionality.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Reel layout | 5×3 |
| Autoplay | Yes |
| Turbo mode | Yes |
| Ease of use | Very intuitive |
| Game history | N/A |
The game comes with an Autoplay feature, which can be set to as few as 10 spins and up to 1,000.
Players can also select turbo mode and quick spins, or choose to skip screens by adjusting their preference in the menu bar.
Game layout rating
- Simple, intuitive layout
- Autoplay feature
- Turbo mode and quick spins
- 5×3 grid potentially predictable
- No option to set limits
I have previously fallen into the trap of seeking out slot games with 100+ squares on the grid, offering huge 100,000x max jackpots, or trying to fuse several themes together to create a truly unique design. I don’t think it ever really works, but it’s nice to see an attempt that goes beyond the usual.
On the one hand, I could argue that the Big Bass Bonanza slot game is, well, too basic. It’s a 5×3 grid. It’s a fishing theme. It’s a generic ocean backdrop. And that’s that.
Then again, with the popularity of Pragmatic Play, there’s not much point in tampering with the game layout when it has proved to be so successful for them.
I’d have loved to have the option to set win or loss limits, though the autoplay can be stopped at a click. Still, the 1,000 max spin could easily sink your budget.
Repeatability
Big Bass Bonanza remains one of Pragmatic Play’s most popular slots. The fact that it spawned other Big Bass slot games is indicative, but whether players prefer the first in the series or not is another matter.
Despite its iconic status, Big Bass Bonanza’s theme and gameplay aren’t original. Fishin’ Frenzy predates Big Bass with its 2014 release date and is a classic in its own right.
Players tend to prefer more recent reiterations, such as Big Bass Splash, the 2022 sequel to Big Bass Bonanza. Big Bass Splash’s added features and higher max win potential addressed some of the grievances players had with the original.
Fans of fishing-themed slots will give Big Bass Bonanza a spin or two, but they’re more likely to get hooked on one of the 25 titles in the extended Big Bass series.
Repeatability rating
- Retains popularity
- Part of wider Big Bass series
- Limited features diminish replayability
- Low-tempo and sluggish AVs
- Has a lot of competition
Big Bass Bonanza is an unremarkable game. I’ve been back to the Big Bass series, but I prefer all the sequels to the original.
If I take off my Pragmatic Play hat and look at it more objectively, there’s nothing about the game mechanics and bonus features that inspires multiple spins.
It’s a tepid, lethargic soundtrack, your average 5×3 reel, and a basic background design, and the max jackpot doesn’t do anything to offset it.
Still, casinos will often feature the game and the fact that it can be found everywhere means there’s demand for it. The medium-high volatility remains an appealing challenge to some players, while others, like me, feel it takes too long to get to the action.
