Game file
Big Bass Bonanza slot: the fisherman collect, retriggers and RTP
Reel Kingdom's fishing slot: a fisherman wild collects the cash on money fish, and every fourth one collected retriggers with a bigger multiplier.
The legal status of casino-style games offered by bookmakers is disputed in South Africa and depends on the province that licenses the bookmaker.
Try the Big Bass Bonanza demo
Big Bass Bonanza is a Reel Kingdom game distributed by Pragmatic Play, and the demo above is the official one from Pragmatic Play's demo server (Reel Kingdom also presents the game on its own Big Bass Bonanza page). A demo round is the clearest way to see how often fishermen and money fish miss each other in free spins, and how the fish values change on every spin. The i button opens the six rules pages quoted here, and the speed button cycles through normal speed, quick spin and turbo spin. It uses play credits, cannot pay out and predicts nothing about a real-money session; more on that on the demo modes page.
Where to play Big Bass Bonanza for real money
Provincially licensed South African bookmakers whose published game lobbies list Big Bass Bonanza, ordered by our score. Check that the game is in the lobby of your account before you deposit.
| # | Bookmaker | Score | Welcome offer | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  BetsheziWestern Cape licenceRead review | Up to R10,000 in match bonuses over first four deposits, plus R50... | Play now | |
| 2 |  ScorebetNorthern Cape licenceRead review | First Deposit 100% Match (up to R5,000) plus up to 150 Free Spins on... | Play now | |
| 3 |  SportingbetWestern Cape licenceRead review | Triple Welcome Bonus: up to R3,000 in bonus funds spread across first... | Play now | |
| 4 |  World Sports BettingWestern Cape licenceRead review | None on file | Play now | |
| 5 |  GbetsWestern Cape licenceRead review | 50 Free Spins and a R50 Free Bet for new customers | Play now | |
| 6 |  PlayBetMpumalanga licenceRead review | 100% first deposit match up to R20,000, split between Casino and... | Play now | |
| 7 |  BetfredMpumalanga licenceRead review | Up to R21,000 plus 750 free spins for new customers | Play now | |
| 8 |  YesPlayWestern Cape licenceRead review | 100% deposit bonus up to R3,000, minimum deposit R20, valid 7 days | Play now |
18+ Casino-style games at bookmakers are offered under provincial licences, and their legal status is disputed nationally since a 2025 appeal court ruling on Gauteng bookmakers. Welcome offers have terms; read them first. Set a limit and never play to win back losses. Help: National Responsible Gambling Programme, 0800 006 008, responsible gambling.
Big Bass Bonanza at a glance
Big Bass Bonanza is a fishing slot by Reel Kingdom, distributed by Pragmatic Play, released on 14 December 2020. It plays on 5 reels, 3 rows and 10 paylines. The action is in free spins: 10, 15 or 20 of them for 3, 4 or 5 scatters, where a fisherman wild collects the cash values shown on money fish, and every four wilds collected retriggers the round with a bigger multiplier. RTP 96.71% in the top version, medium-high volatility, top win 2,100x.
Big Bass Bonanza started a long series of fishing sequels, and the original is still a favourite search. Its appeal is a bonus that is easy to follow: fish carry money, the fisherman collects it, and collecting enough fishermen makes everything bigger. This file explains the base game, the collection mechanic step by step, the retrigger ladder, the RTP versions in rand and why its 2,100x top win is lower than many of its neighbours.
Reel Kingdom's own catalogue confirms the grid, the paylines, the 96.71% RTP and the features. The volatility rating, top win, release date and lower RTP versions come from an established slot reference site. For this page we also read the six rules pages inside the official demo and the game's page on Pragmatic Play's site. The paytable, the money values, the retrigger rules and the 2,100x cap below come from the demo's rules; where they differ from the reference site, as they do on the volatility label, this page says so.
The base game: 5 reels, 10 lines
The base game is a straightforward 5x3 line slot. Ten paylines run across the grid, and the rules say all symbols pay from left to right on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel. Only the highest win is paid on each line, and wins on several lines are added together. There is no wild in the base game: the fisherman appears only in free spins. The money fish and their cash values matter most there too, where the fisherman can collect them.
Big Bass Bonanza paytable in multiples of the bet
The demo's paytable shows wins at a fixed stake. Converted into multiples of the total bet across all ten lines:
| Symbol | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fishing float | 0.5x | 5x | 20x | 200x |
| Rod and reel | - | 3x | 15x | 100x |
| Dragonfly | - | 2x | 10x | 50x |
| Tackle box | - | 2x | 10x | 50x |
| Money fish | - | 1x | 5x | 20x |
| A, K, Q, J, 10 | - | 0.5x | 2.5x | 10x |
On a R10 spin, five floats on a line pay R2,000 and three of any card symbol pay R5. The float is the only symbol that pays for two. The money fish is also a line symbol, so in the base game it pays like any other symbol; its cash value only counts in free spins.
Free spins and the money collect
- Trigger. Three, four or five scatters award 10, 15 or 20 free spins.
- Fish land with values. On every spin each money fish takes a random value of 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x or 2,000x the total bet.
- The fisherman collects. The fisherman is the wild in this round. He appears on all reels, substitutes for every symbol except the scatter, and collects the values of every money fish on the screen when he lands.
- Extra fish. At random, when exactly one fisherman is on the screen at the end of a free spin, money fish can appear in random positions, giving him something to collect.
- Paid at the end. Special reels are in play for the round, and collected fishermen are counted until it ends.
Most free spins rounds are decided by timing: fishermen that land when there are no fish on screen collect nothing, and fish that land without a fisherman are lost. A round where both turn up together pays well; one where they keep missing each other can pay very little.
The retrigger ladder: 2x, 3x, 10x
Fishermen are counted through the round. According to the rules, every fourth one collected retriggers the feature with 10 more free spins and raises the multiplier for money collection: 2x on the first retrigger, 3x on the second and 10x on the third. The retriggered spins are played after the current batch ends, and the multiplier applies to those retriggered spins. After the third retrigger the round cannot be retriggered again, so a full round runs to at most 30 extra spins. The ladder is what turns a decent round into a big one, because a 10x multiplier on a screen full of fish is where the game's top results come from.
- 4 fishermen Retrigger, collections now 2x.
- 8 fishermen Retrigger, collections now 3x.
- 12 fishermen Retrigger, collections now 10x.
Reaching the third rung is rare. Most rounds end on the first or second.
Big Bass Bonanza RTP versions
Reel Kingdom's catalogue, Pragmatic Play's game page and the rules page in the official demo all give 96.71%; the rules page calls it the theoretical RTP of the game. The reference source adds lower versions at 95.67% and around 94.5% to 94.6%; it is not consistent about the lowest figure. The bookmaker chooses the version, and the game's info screen shows it.
Tool
Big Bass Bonanza RTP explainer
- Total staked
- R1,000.00
- Average returned
- -
- Average cost
- -
- Per R100 staked
- -
An average over a very large number of spins, not a prediction. A real session can end far above or far below it, and the more volatile the game, the wider that spread.
96.71% is one of the higher single figures among the slots in this guide, shared with Reel Kingdom's Hot to Burn. It only helps if the lobby runs that version.
Medium-high volatility and a 2,100x ceiling
The reference source rates the game 4 out of 5 for volatility, while the rules page in the official demo labels it "low volatility", which it explains as paying out more often in smaller amounts while still having the chance to win big. Read the label on the info screen of the version you open. The rules confirm the top win as a hard cap: the maximum win is limited to 2,100x the bet, and if a free spins round reaches 2,100x, it ends at once, the win is paid and the remaining spins are forfeited. That is well below the 5,000x common to many Pragmatic Play titles, even though a single money fish can show 2,000x. A lower ceiling with a medium-high rating means a game that pays its bonus more steadily than the very volatile scatter slots, but rarely reaches spectacular totals.
Where Big Bass Bonanza is listed
Licensed bookmakers that name Pragmatic Play, which distributes Reel Kingdom's games, are listed at the foot of this page. Whether Big Bass Bonanza is live in a lobby on a given day is shown on the bookmaker's site. More Reel Kingdom and Pragmatic Play titles are on the Pragmatic Play page, including Hot to Burn.
The legal status of casino-style games at bookmakers is disputed and depends on the province: a 2025 Supreme Court of Appeal ruling bars Gauteng bookmakers from casino games, while the Western Cape board says its licensees are not affected.
Fishing for a budget
What helps
- Checking whether the lobby runs the 96.71% version
- Knowing that most of the return sits in free spins
- A fixed stake and a stop-loss
What does not
- Expecting the 10x rung in every bonus
- Raising the stake after a bonus with no fishermen
- Treating a near miss on scatters as a sign
Responsible gambling
Big Bass Bonanza spin budget
- Spins if nothing comes back
- -
- Staked per hour
- -
- Average cost per hour
- -
- Stop-loss to set
- -
- Set the deposit limit in your bookmaker account before you start, not during a session.
- Use a timer: the clock runs faster than it feels when rounds take seconds.
- Never raise the stake to win back a loss.
Averages only: a single session can lose the whole budget much faster. Free, confidential help: National Responsible Gambling Programme, 0800 006 008. 18+ only.
Slots are for adults aged 18 and over. For limits, self-exclusion and free counselling, see responsible gambling.
Big Bass Bonanza screenshots
Game images: Reel Kingdom, distributed by Pragmatic Play, from the official demo. Screenshots show demo mode with play credits, not real-money play.
Listed in the game lobbies of
Names only, from the bookmakers' published game lobbies. Not a recommendation to play.
Questions and answers
Who makes Big Bass Bonanza?
Reel Kingdom, with distribution by Pragmatic Play. The game was released on 14 December 2020.
What is the RTP of Big Bass Bonanza?
Reel Kingdom's catalogue gives 96.71%. A reference source adds lower versions at 95.67% and about 94.5% to 94.6%. The info screen shows the version a lobby runs.
How do free spins work in Big Bass Bonanza?
Three, four or five scatters award 10, 15 or 20 free spins. The fisherman wild collects the values on every money fish on screen, and when only one fisherman is on screen at the end of a spin, extra fish can appear at random.
How does the retrigger work?
Every fourth fisherman collected adds 10 free spins and raises the money multiplier to 2x, then 3x, then 10x. After the third retrigger the round cannot be retriggered again.
What is the maximum win in Big Bass Bonanza?
2,100x the bet. The rules make it a cap: if a free spins round reaches 2,100x, it ends at once and the remaining spins are forfeited.
Is Big Bass Bonanza high volatility?
The reference source rates it medium-high, 4 out of 5, while the rules page in the official demo labels it low volatility. Check the label in the version you open.
Where is the Big Bass Bonanza demo?
On this page: the official Big Bass Bonanza demo from Pragmatic Play loads in the "Try the Big Bass Bonanza demo" section when you press play. It uses play credits only and cannot pay out.
What values can the money fish show?
The rules list 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x and 2,000x the total bet. The value is only collected in free spins, by the fisherman wild.
Is there a wild in the Big Bass Bonanza base game?
No. The rules say the fisherman wild appears on all reels during the free spins round only.
What is the top symbol in Big Bass Bonanza?
The fishing float: 200x the total bet for five on a line, 20x for four, 5x for three and 0.5x for two.