Big Bass Bonanza Megaways by Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom invites you to spend a day on the water and hook impressive wins. This 2021 upgrade of the original Big Bass Bonanza shares similar looks with its predecessor but includes a few vital tweaks, including the Megaways mechanic, a higher RTP, and bigger payout potential.
This is another excellent entry in Pragmatic Play’s Bass series of slots, with the Megaways mechanic and random Free Spins features elevating the experience to new heights. I was especially impressed with how the Bazooka and Dynamite bonuses made the Free Spins round much more rewarding in unique ways.
Quick Summary:
Megaways fishing slot with up to 46,656 ways to win.
High volatility with a 96.70% RTP.
Features: Free Spins with prize collection, tumbles, multiplier trail, and random boosters.
Top potential: 4,000x your bet.
Pros
Full-on Free Spins: The Free Spins feature delivers a multiplier trail and rewarding bonus symbols
Relaxing theme: The fishing visuals create a laid-back experience
Decent RTP: the 96.70% RTP is well above average
Cons
Steep volatility: High volatility gameplay can challenge your resolve
Chloe's Take: Having played a few fishing slots over the years, I’m always curious to see how different developers approach the genre. Knowing that Pragmatic Play was behind Big Bass Bonanza Megaways before I fired it up meant my expectations were pretty high, and it more than delivered. Even if fishing slots aren’t usually your thing, this one is worth checking out.
Bonus Features in Big Bass Bonanza Megaways
Chloe's Take: The Free Spins round here has a satisfying rhythm to it. Fish symbols accumulate at the bottom of the screen as tumbles happen, and every Fisherman that lands sweeps them all up at once. While I didn’t manage to hit the Dynamite and Bazooka modifiers during my session, what really elevated it for me was the multiplier tied to the retriggers. For every fourth Fisherman that I collected, I earned 10 additional free spins and a bigger fish symbol multiplier that climbed from 2x to 3x to a massive 10x by the third retrigger.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways features Free Spins with multipliers, prize collection, and random bonus round boosters.
Let’s take a look at the bonus features in detail:
1. Wild Symbol
The Wild Fisherman symbol appears on reels 2, 3, 4, and 5 (including the top row), but only in the Free Spins feature. The Wild will stand in for all regular pay symbols to help you complete winning combinations.
2. Free Spins
Land 3, 4, or 5 scatters to trigger 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. In free spins, fish symbols will move to the bottom of the screen as tumbles happen. Fisherman symbols collect the values of all fish symbols in view when they land and add them to your total. If more than one fisherman symbol appears on the same spin, the collection will be repeated.
Fisherman symbols are also collected in a meter next to the reels. For every 4th fisherman collected, you will get 10 more free spins and a fish symbol multiplier boost. Your first, second, and third retriggers will award you a 2x, 3x, and 10x multiplier, respectively. If 1 or 2 fisherman symbols land, but no fish symbols appear, you could trigger one of two random features.
The Dynamite feature adds fish symbols to random reel positions, and the Bazooka will remove all symbols on the reels, except for any fisherman symbols.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways start screen.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways Volatility and Return to Player
Chloe's Take: The 96.70% RTP is one of the better ones in this genre, and it’s a meaningful improvement above most Pragmatic Play titles. While the high volatility still means patience is required, the multiplier trail that builds with each retrigger kept me engaged during leaner runs instead of just going through the motions while I waited around for a big hit.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways offers high volatility gameplay, so you can claim significant payouts, but you may experience long dry spells in between large prizes. The theoretical Return to Player (RTP) is 96.70%, which is well above the industry average.
How Does Big Bass Bonanza Megaways Compare to Similar Megaways Slots?
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways takes you on a fishing adventure, while Buffalo King Megaways lets you roam with a wild herd. Go from the prairie to the ranch and watch your horses run in Mustang Gold Megaways. If being a horse rancher isn’t your thing, maybe you’ll enjoy a jungle adventure in Gorilla Gold Megaways.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways features a relaxing nature theme that puts you in the mood for the great outdoors. Let’s compare this title to three other nature-themed Megaways slots to see how they measure up.
Chloe's Take: The paytable keeps things simple and on-theme, with fishing lures, rods, tackle boxes, and a dragonfly filling out the premium spots. The fishing lure topping out at 50x for six is decent, but the real money is in what the Fisherman symbols sweep up during Free Spins.
The Big Bass Bonanza Megaways paytable is filled with fishing gear and colourful card royals. The fishing lure is the most valuable symbol, at 50x your bet for 6 of a kind. This slot has a maximum prize of 4,000 times your bet.
Here is a breakdown of the payout potential for each symbol combo:
6 symbols
5 symbols
4 symbols
3 symbols
2 symbols
Fishing Lure
50x
25x
10x
5x
2x
Fishing Rod
7.5x
2.5x
2x
1x
-
Dragonfly
2x
1.5x
1x
0.25x
-
Tackle Box
2x
0.75x
0.5x
0.25x
-
Fish
1.75x
0.6x
0.4x
0.2x
-
Ace
1.75x
0.6x
0.4x
0.2x
-
King
1x
0.6x
0.25x
0.2x
-
Queen
1x
0.5x
0.25x
0.15x
-
Jack
0.9x
0.5x
0.25x
0.15x
-
Ten
0.8x
0.4x
0.2x
0.1x
-
How to Play Big Bass Bonanza Megaways
Chloe's Take: Like most Pragmatic Play slots, the layout here is intuitive and uncluttered, despite displaying quite a lot on the main screen. The big spin button in the center of the screen is as accessible as it gets, as are the stake buttons on either side of it that make quick on-the-fly adjustments easy. The autoplay and speed settings are also right where they’re needed, while the settings menu and paytable stay out of the way on opposite sides of the screen.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways features a 6-reel format with a 4-symbol horizontal reel above the main grid. You can land 2-7 symbols, per reel, per spin, generating up to 46,656 ways to win. You score payouts by landing three or more symbols on adjacent reels, starting from the leftmost reel. This goes for all symbols, except the fishing lure, which only needs two or more of a kind for a match.
On every winning spin, the winning symbols will be removed by the Tumble mechanic, allowing new symbols to fall in their place, potentially triggering chains of consecutive wins.
The large spin button gets the reels moving, and you can change your bet with the stake buttons on either side of it. You can access the menu, paytable, and audio options with the buttons on the left-hand side of the screen.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways: Theme, Presentation, and Music
Chloe's Take: I found the underwater setting to be an effective design choice, as the water’s surface merging with the sunset and slowly rising bubbles on both sides of the reels gave the game a calm quality that I quickly absorbed. Likewise, the breezy ukulele score kept the mood relaxed and fitting without making me want to mute it at any point during my session.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways plays out in an underwater environment with a stream of bubbles separating the reels and a hint of the water’s surface at the top of the screen. The soundtrack is a light and playful guitar tuneaccompanied by seagull sounds that enhance the ocean atmosphere.
Our Gameplay Analysis of Big Bass Bonanza Megaways
The longest dry spell lasted 11 consecutive spins.
I started the session with a C$5 bet and was immediately met with long dry spells, including 11 consecutive dead spins, broken up only by a handful of small wins. After increasing my stake to C$10, the gameplay remained much the same, with repeated Free Spins teases but no bonus trigger. Despite a late run of wins up to C$22, the session finished 557 credits down, highlighting just how reliant Big Bass Megaways can be on landing its bonus feature.
Dead Spin Analysis
The longest dry spell lasted 11 consecutive spins, with several additional runs of eight or more dead spins. While the Megaways mechanic creates varied reel layouts, the base game felt particularly unforgiving during this session, relying heavily on the anticipation of the Free Spins feature to maintain excitement.
Time to Bonus
Unfortunately, the Free Spins feature didn't trigger during the session. Although the scatter symbols appeared on multiple occasions and came frustratingly close to activating the bonus, the feature never landed. The repeated teases created plenty of anticipation but also highlighted how dependent the slot can be on reaching its bonus round for larger payouts.
Feature Analysis
Even without triggering the bonus, the classic Big Bass fishing theme remained enjoyable throughout. The frequent scatter teases and changing Megaways combinations kept every spin feeling like it had potential, but this session demonstrated that patience is essential, as the base game alone struggled to generate meaningful momentum.
Results:
Starting Bankroll: 100,000 credits
Bet Range: C$5–C$10
Biggest Win: C$22
Longest Dead Spin Streak: 11 spins
Time to Bonus: Bonus not triggered
Free Spins Triggered: No
Ended in a Loss -557 credits
Takeaways
Big Bass Megaways combines the familiar fishing theme with the unpredictability of the Megaways mechanic, creating a slot that constantly hints at bigger rewards. The cheerful soundtrack, colourful visuals and recurring scatter teases keep the gameplay engaging, but this session showed that the slot's real potential lies within its Free Spins feature and fisherman collect mechanic. If the bonus doesn't land, expect long dry spells and a grind-heavy experience, but when it does, the payout potential can change the session in an instant.
Verdict
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways delivers an enjoyable slot experience with thrilling winning moments, but the high volatility could trip you up.
On the downside, the high volatility will only appeal to players who enjoy increased levels of risk. If the idea of potentially sacrificing a lot of bets to achieve high rewards, then you’ll probably be more comfortable with lower volatility titles.
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways FAQs
How much can I win in Big Bass Bonanza Megaways?
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways has a top prize of 4,000x your bet.
What are the bonus features in Big Bass Bonanza Megaways?
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways features Free Spins, prize collection progressive multipliers, and bonus modifiers.
Can I play this slot as a beginner?
Big Bass Bonanza Megaways is simple enough for newer players to understand after a few spins, so playing the free demo first is recommended.
