Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel: Slot Overview

Yet another fishing-themed slot has surfaced. This one is called Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel, and if anyone can put a fresh spin on the genre, it’s Pragmatic Play alongside partner studio Reel Kingdom. Together they’ve already built a massively popular run of angling slots, kicked off by Big Bass Bonanza and followed by multiple offshoots. Here, Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel keeps the ingredients that made the series appealing, while adding a couple of newer touches to keep things feeling updated.

What hasn’t changed is that unmistakable Big Bass vibe. It’s tricky to define, but anyone who’s played one will likely get it: the cheerful bearded fisherman, the bold, colorful icons, the watery backdrop, and the overall friendly atmosphere. All of that is present again in Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel, which seems to have shifted to a chillier setting than usual. It’s not quite ice fishing, but the land at the top of the screen definitely has an icy look to it. Matching the visuals, Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel’s soundtrack stays as upbeat and lively as ever.

On the numbers side, Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel boosts certain aspects while trimming others. The RTP, for example, is a touch lower than the original, though it’s still perfectly respectable, with a maximum default of 96.07%, and two lower versions also offered. The upside is notably bigger than what Pragmatic Play’s fishing titles often provide, backed by a highly volatile math model. For staking, players can set bets from 10 p/c to $/€250 per spin, playable across devices.

Collecting fish money symbols is arguably Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel’s headline attraction, but that action only happens in free spins. Outside of that, payouts come from standard line wins, created when matching symbols land on adjacent reels starting from the leftmost Reel onwards. There are 10 fixed paylines across the 5-reel, 3-row layout. The paytable includes 10-A royals as the lower symbols, with fish symbols, tackle boxes, dragonflies, reels, and floats as the higher ones. A five-of-a-kind line returns 5-10x the bet for royals or 20 to 200x the bet for premium symbols. Wilds and golden wilds only show up during free spins, where one of their roles is to substitute for any symbol except the scatter.

Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel: Slot Features

Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel keeps its standout mechanics for the bonus round. Free spins are triggered when 3, 4, or 5 scatter symbols land, awarding 10, 15, or 20 free spins, respectively. If 2 scatters appear in the base game, there is a chance the third is hooked onto the screen to activate free spins.

As noted, the wild symbol and golden wild symbol are introduced on the reels during free spins. When fish symbols land, they carry a cash money value. If fish land at the same time as a regular wild or golden wild symbol, their values are collected and awarded. If fish symbols land but no wild lands, their values are added to a prize net positioned above the reels. With each subsequent spin, a random fish escapes the pot, reducing what’s stored.

But when a golden wild symbol lands, it not only collects any fish values that appear alongside it, but whatever value is stored in the prize pot is also awarded. There are also some random elements. So, if fisherman symbols are on screen but no fish are present at the end of a free spin, fish symbols may appear in random positions. Alternatively, when fish symbols are present but no fisherman appears, fisherman symbols can randomly be added to the board.

And it doesn’t stop there. When wilds or golden wilds hit, they are collected on the multiplier trail. Every 4 collected retriggers 10 extra free spins, with a multiplier applied to each fish money symbol collection. The multiplier steps up through x2, x3, and x10. Once the final stage is reached, the feature can’t be retriggered anymore.

Buy Free Spins and Ante Bet

There are also two alternative ways to play Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel: the Ante Bet or the option to buy free spins. The Ante Bet increases the bet by 50%, adding extra scatter symbols to the reels. Alternatively, where available, players can purchase free spins for 100x the bet. With either option, the RTP stays unchanged at 96.07%.

Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel: Slot Verdict

Pragmatic Play and Reel Kingdom have managed to squeeze plenty of value out of the Big Bass family of slots, and the franchise doesn’t appear to be easing off. If anything, it keeps building momentum, and Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel has enough going for it to hook existing fans. For starters, the upbeat tone is turned right up—everything looks and sounds relentlessly cheerful. That won’t suit everyone, but players who were won over by Big Bass Bonanza should find plenty to like in Keeping it Reel as well.

The newer mechanic, though, isn’t entirely unfamiliar. Earlier Pragmatic Play games such as Treasure Wild and Black Bull used a comparable idea where money symbols feed a prize pot that pays out when wild symbols land. In Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel, the twist is that the prize net can lose value as money “jumps” out. Sure, it fits the theme of a fish flopping off the boat and back into the water, but it can be a bit annoying seeing the pot shrink in real time. Still, escaping fish don’t reduce Big Bass Bonanza Keeping it Reel’s top-end potential, since the maximum win reaches 10,000x the bet. That comfortably beats Big Bass Bonanza Megaways, Big Bass Splash, or Bigger Bass Bonanza—and the rest of the series—by a significant margin.

All in all, it’s another solid, enjoyable addition to the Big Bass lineup. It’s not a groundbreaking reinvention of fishing slots and doesn’t introduce much that hasn’t been seen before in some form. Even so, the higher win potential and the slightly refreshed mechanics help keep the franchise afloat and should be enough to tempt fans back for another spin.