Fishing slots

How fishing slots work

Strip away the boats and tackle boxes and nearly every fishing slot runs on the same engine. Fish symbols land on the reels showing a cash value, usually a multiple of your stake. On their own they pay nothing in the bonus round. When a fisherman wild lands on the same spin, it reels in the value of every fish on screen. Collecting enough fishermen typically retriggers the free spins and raises a multiplier on everything collected afterwards.

Reel Kingdom, the studio behind the Big Bass series and distributed by Pragmatic Play, lists the fisherman collect as its signature mechanic. Its breakthrough game, Big Bass Bonanza, launched on 14 December 2020, and the design has since been copied, reskinned and stretched into dozens of versions. You'll find the full family on our Big Bass series page; this page takes the wider view across studios and sits under our slot themes section.

1. Spin the base game at your chosen stake; fish money symbols may appear but the base game pays on normal lines.
2. Land the required number of scatter symbols to trigger free spins (the count varies by game, so check the paytable).
3. During free spins, any fisherman wild collects the cash value of every fish visible on that spin.
4. Each fisherman collected moves a meter along; filling it usually adds more spins and a higher multiplier.
5. When the spins run out, the collected total is paid, up to the game's max win cap.

Fishing slots compared: RTP, volatility and max win

The figures below come from our checked slot data. RTP is the developer's top version; several of these games also exist at lower settings, which a casino may choose to run instead.

Two patterns stand out. Reel Kingdom's older titles cluster at 96.71%, while its later 'Xtreme' and Hold & Spinner releases drop to 96.07% in exchange for higher caps. Blueprint's games sit lower on RTP, with Even Bigger Catch the most expensive here at 95%.

The Big Bass slots: one idea, many versions

The original Big Bass Bonanza is a 5x3 game with 10 paylines, a 96.71% RTP, high volatility and a modest 2,100x cap. Bigger Bass Bonanza (2021) adds a fourth row and 12 fixed lines and doubles the cap to 4,000x at the same RTP. Big Bass Splash keeps the 10-line shape with a 5,000x ceiling.

Later games push the ceiling much higher. Big Bass Bonanza 1000 lifts it to 20,000x at 96.51%. Big Bass Hold & Spinner and Big Bass Amazon Xtreme both reach 10,000x and are rated very high volatility. Big Bass Bonanza – Keeping it Reel (2022) also caps at 10,000x, with free spins where fisherman wilds collect fish prizes and upgrade multipliers, as summarised in this OLBG game listing (opens in a new tab).

Reel Kingdom has also taken the theme on Megaways reels. Big Bass Bonanza Megaways offers up to 46,656 ways (the same as six reels each showing six symbols: 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 x 6), while Big Bass Hold & Spinner Megaways goes up to 147,456 ways with a 20,000x cap.

Seasonal and spin-off versions

The fisherman has been dressed up for every occasion. Christmas Big Bass Bonanza swaps him for a Santa wild with multipliers up to 10x, Big Bass Halloween 2 adds a wild progress bar and optional modifiers, and Big Bass Day at the Races uses punter wilds with multipliers rising up to 50x. Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake lets you pick between classic free spins and a Golden Lake version.

Blueprint's fishing slots: Fishin' Frenzy and the Big Catch games

Blueprint Gaming, based in Newark and owned by Merkur Group, had fishing games on the market before Big Bass existed, as the Megaways version below shows. Fishin' Frenzy is a 5x3, 10-line game with a 96.12% RTP and a 5,000x cap. Unusually for the theme it is rated medium volatility, so wins tend to arrive more evenly than in Reel Kingdom's very high titles.

Fishin' Frenzy Megaways arrived in April 2019 with up to 15,625 ways, high volatility and a 10,000x cap. Its RTP is quoted at 96.10% by some listings and 95.02% by another, which is a reminder that the version matters: over £100 staked, that gap is £3.90 against £4.98 in average losses.

The Big Catch runs at 95.32% on 10 lines, and its sequel Even Bigger Catch (February 2023) publishes 95% with a 93% version also available, alongside a 10,000x cap. On RTP these are the costliest fishing slots in our data.

Fishing slot max wins in pounds

A max win is a multiple of your stake, so its pound value depends entirely on what you bet. It is also a ceiling: the game stops paying once you reach it, and very few sessions come close.

A higher cap usually comes with higher volatility and sometimes a lower RTP, as the Big Bass table shows. That means more of the game's return is packed into rare large results and less into everyday wins. Our explainer on max win caps covers how the cap is applied.

Which fishing slots suit a small budget

If you want your stake to last, start with the medium-volatility Fishin' Frenzy or the original Big Bass Bonanza, whose low 2,100x cap leaves more of its 96.71% return for smaller wins. The very high titles, such as Amazon Xtreme and Hold & Spinner, can go a long time without a feature. Our volatility guide and the high against low volatility comparison explain why.

The average cost is the same idea everywhere: total staked times the house edge. At 96.71%, every £100 of spins costs £3.29 on average; at 96.07% it's £3.93; at 95% it's £5. The ranking by cost is therefore Reel Kingdom's 96.71% originals first and Even Bigger Catch last.

Sea and ocean slots without the fisherman

Some players searching for fishing slots really want the underwater setting. These games share the water but not the collect mechanic:

• Great Blue (Playtech, 2013): 5x3, 25 paylines, 96.03% RTP, high volatility.
• Release the Kraken (Pragmatic Play): 5x4, 20 paylines rising to 40 in free spins, 96.50%, up to 10,000x.
• Lord of the Ocean (Novomatic, 2008): 5x3, 10 paylines, 95.1%, high volatility.
• Dolphin's Pearl Deluxe (Novomatic, 2009): 5x3, 10 paylines, 95.13%, high volatility.

There is also a live-dealer option. Evolution's Ice Fishing is a game show with a 53-section wheel and three bonus modes, which the developer says offers up to 5,000x, according to its Ice Fishing launch announcement (opens in a new tab). It is a live game, not a slot, so slot stake limits don't apply to it.

UK rules for fishing slots online

Every fishing slot on a UK-licensed site follows the same Gambling Commission rules:

The stake limits are explained in the Commission's online slots stake limit guidance (opens in a new tab) and on our slot stake limits page. Our page on the autoplay ban covers why each spin now needs a fresh press.

Where to play fishing slots with a welcome offer

This is the theme where our partner offers fit most directly. PlayOJO gives new UK customers (18+, excluding Northern Ireland) 80 free spins on Big Bass Bonanza when they make a first deposit of £10 or more. Each spin is worth 10p, so the spins have a face value of £8; at the game's top published 96.71% RTP, their average return would be about £7.74, though results vary widely. There is no wagering, winnings are paid in cash, and the offer can't be combined with others.

Coral gives 100 free spins at 10p on selected slots when you deposit and bet £10+ on slots (accept within 48 hours, use within 7 days, no wagering on winnings; PayPal, Skrill and some other methods excluded). Ladbrokes gives 50 free spins a day for 10 days, up to 500, at 10p on selected games after you deposit and spend £10+ on slots, with no wagering and each day's spins claimed by 23:59. Whether a fishing game is among the selected titles is set by each casino, so check the terms. Coral and Ladbrokes share an operator, LC International Limited. 18+ and terms apply.

18+. Every casino game has a built-in house edge, so over time you should expect to lose what you stake. Set a budget before you play and stop when it’s gone: safer gambling tools and support. Free, confidential help: National Gambling Helpline 0808 8020 133.