Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner: Slot Overview

Fancy casting a line yet again and heading out for another fishing session with Pragmatic Play and partner studio Reel Kingdom? Too much, brilliant, or somewhere in between? Either way, few would have predicted the series would still be powering along several releases later, and it shows no sign of slowing. This time it’s Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner, a mix of familiar mechanics and fresh ideas. The classic side is the well-known retriggerable free spins where Money symbols are collected, while the new addition is the Hold & Spinner feature.

If you’ve tried one Big Bass Bonanza title, you haven’t automatically played them all, but they do share a lot of DNA. A major part of that is the upbeat, easygoing, relaxing feel. Bright colours and a lively soundtrack make it simple to settle in. Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner appears set on a lake or river, hinted at by the frog, dragonflies, and greenery along the top. It may not be deep-sea sport fishing, but the background waters are full of fish to keep the theme appetising.

Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner can be played on desktop, mobile, and tablet, with stakes ranging from 10 p/c to $/€250 per spin. In standard play, the default RTP is 96.07%, which nudges up to 96.09% when the Ante Bet is enabled. The Ante Bet increases the stake by 50% for an extra chance of Scatter symbols. Alternatively, you can opt to buy free spins or the Hold & Spinner feature. In both purchase options, the RTP is 96.07%, noting that lower RTP versions exist, with full details shown in the paytable.

The action takes place on a 5-reel, 3-row layout with 10 fixed paylines for forming winning combinations. As with many fishing slots, regular line wins can end up taking a back seat to collecting Fish Money symbols or, in this case, landing Money symbols, but the paytable still offers solid returns. A five-of-a-kind line of Fish Money symbols, tackle boxes, dragonflies, reels, or floats awards 20 to 200 times the bet. Lower symbols are more modest, with a 5 OAK 10-A card symbol combination paying 5 to 10 times the stake. In addition, wilds substitute for all other paying symbols, though they only show up during free spins.

Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner: Slot Features

This part is equal parts nostalgia and something new to explore. Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner includes two separate bonus rounds: free spins and the Hold & Spinner.

Free Spins

Hitting 3, 4, or 5 Scatter symbols in the base game triggers 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. In the free spins round, every wild symbol that lands collects the values of all Fish Money symbols in view. Fish Money symbols carry random values of 2x to 10,000x the bet. On top of that, each wild that lands is added to the meter above the reels. The first four collected wilds boost the Fish Money multiplier to x2, the next four raise it to x3, and the third group of four collected wilds takes it to the maximum of x10. Each time a new level is reached, +10 free spins are granted. Once the current set of spins finishes, any retriggered spins continue at the newly achieved multiplier. After the third retrigger, free spins can’t be retriggered again.

Randomly, if a wild symbol is present on the reels but no Fish Money symbols appear, Fish Money symbols may appear in random positions, delivered by a bazooka.

Hold & Spinner

Money symbols can land showing values of 1x to 2,000x the bet and appear as coins or diamonds. When 3 Money symbols land, they activate the Hold & Spinner feature. In this mode, you receive 4 respins on a reel set that can land only blank spaces or Money symbols. The triggering Money symbols carry into the feature, pay out, and then remain locked in position until it ends. Whenever additional Money symbols land, you’re paid their values plus the values of the sticky Money symbols, and the respin count is reset. Any newly landed Money symbols are not sticky.

Feature Buys

Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner allows you to purchase either bonus round. Each option costs 100x the bet and, based on the selected feature, awards 3, 4, or 5 Scatters or 3, 4, or 5 Money symbols.

Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner: Slot Verdict

It’s surprising that what looked like a fairly simple concept at the start has turned Big Bass Bonanza into the powerhouse series it is today. Catch Fish Money symbols and collect their values when the fisherman lands—originally, it sounded straightforward, even if the wild-collection system that drives retriggers and multipliers in free spins added an extra twist. Still, if any slot ever had that hard-to-pin-down spark, it was Big Bass Bonanza, and it’s been expanded repeatedly since. Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner is the newest entry so far, keeping much of what made the original stand out while stirring in a few new ideas of its own.

At this stage, the free spins round needs little introduction. It delivers everything a fishing-slot fan could ask for—Fish Money collects, retriggers, multipliers, fisherman wilds, bazookas, the lot. Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom have sensibly let that part remain largely unchanged. The overall feel is also very similar, so anyone who enjoys the series’ calm, friendly tone should feel right at home, as Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner is just as laid back as its siblings. That brings us to the Hold & Spinner, the game’s most distinctive new element. It’s solid rather than spectacular, and it also runs a bit differently from many hold ’n win-style mechanics. Smartly, the developers have kept the Hold & Spinner in line with the Big Bass Bonanza style by making it straightforward but potentially entertaining. Money symbols can land with sizeable values, and the way sticky Money symbols pay again when fresh Money symbols appear is a neat touch. In terms of top-end potential, Big Bass Bonanza Hold & Spinner is among the biggest in the series so far, featuring a win cap of 10,000 times the stake.

So, that’s another neat entry in the rapidly growing Big Bass Bonanza roster. It’s a strong addition, thanks to the comfortable familiarity of its fish, fisherman, and core features, alongside the extra curiosity of something new to chase. The much higher win potential certainly won’t do it any harm either.