Last updated: May 2026. Fisherman wild and collect mechanic verified through extended testing on all four featured AU casinos in April-May 2026, plus the Pragmatic Play paytable documentation.
The single mechanic that made Big Bass Bonanza iconic — the one that other studios cloned dozens of times, the one that defined a sub-genre of "fishing slots" — is the fisherman wild's collect behaviour during free spins. The base-game wild is unremarkable. The free-spins wild is the entire game. This article is a deep-dive on how the fisherman behaves in both modes, how money symbols work, what the every-4th-fisherman retrigger means, and how the collect mechanic stacks to deliver the bonus round's payouts.
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The fisherman in two modes
The fisherman wild is the same symbol — the smiling, mustachioed cartoon angler in a wide-brimmed hat — but behaves completely differently depending on whether you're in the base game or the free spins round.
Base game (forgettable):
- Appears on reels 2, 3, and 4 only (not reels 1 or 5).
- Substitutes for all symbols except the tackle-box scatter.
- Pays as part of standard payline wins where it stands in for a missing symbol.
- Does not collect anything.
- Visually it's a regular reel symbol that lands and stays for one spin.
Free spins (the entire reason to play):
- Still appears on reels 2, 3, and 4.
- Still substitutes for all non-scatter symbols.
- Collects every money symbol currently visible on the reels and adds the values to your bonus total.
- Every 4th fisherman across the round triggers +10 additional respins with the same rules.
- Visually he animates — leaning back, reeling in his rod — and the money symbols fly across the screen toward him.
The two-mode design is intentional. The base game uses the fisherman as a visual hook (you see him land, you know what he does in the bonus, you keep playing for the bonus). The bonus uses him as the payout engine.
Money symbols — the other half of the mechanic
The collect mechanic needs something to collect. That's the money symbols — gold-coin tokens with dollar-value numerals printed on them, ranging from 2× up to 500× your bet.
Money symbols only appear during free spins. They don't show up in the base game at all. Once you trigger the bonus, money symbols start landing alongside regular symbols on every free spin.
| Money symbol denomination | How rare |
|---|---|
| 2× | Common — appears in most bonuses |
| 5× | Common |
| 10× | Frequent |
| 25× | Moderate |
| 50× | Less frequent |
| 100× | Rare |
| 250× | Rare |
| 500× | Very rare (often missing from many bonus rounds) |
A money symbol that lands on the reels stays in place for the rest of the bonus round unless a fisherman collects it. So if a 25× money symbol lands on spin 1 and no fisherman appears, it'll still be there on spin 2, spin 3, etc., waiting.
The accumulation is what makes the mechanic interesting. You're not hoping for a specific symbol to land — you're watching the reels build up value, willing the fisherman to show up before the round ends.
How the collect actually plays out
A typical bonus round in slow motion:
Spin 1 of free spins: A 10× money symbol lands on reel 2. Saved.
Spin 2: A 5× money symbol lands on reel 4. Now you have 10× and 5× on screen.
Spin 3: Regular symbols. No money symbol. Existing money symbols still sitting there.
Spin 4: A 25× money symbol lands on reel 3, and the fisherman lands on reel 2. The fisherman animation fires — he reels in the 10×, 5×, and 25×. You're paid 40× your bet. Reels clear of money symbols.
Spin 5: New money symbols start landing.
Spin 6: A 50× money symbol lands. Then a 100×. Total on screen: 150×.
Spin 7: Another fisherman. He collects the 150×. You're paid 150× your bet.
Spin 8: Money symbols start over.
Spins 9-10: End of original 10-spin round. Whatever money symbols are on the reels when the round ends are lost if no fisherman collects them.
A round like this would pay about 190× total — well above average. The math hinges on how often the fisherman lands and how big the money-symbol pile is when he lands.
The every-4th-fisherman retrigger
This is the mechanic that turns ordinary bonus rounds into outsized ones.
Every 4th fisherman to appear during the bonus round triggers 10 additional respins. The respin sub-round uses the same collect rules. Land 4 more fishermen during the respin sub-round, you trigger another 10 respins. The chain has no documented maximum.
Walked through:
- Fisherman 1: collects money symbols.
- Fisherman 2: collects money symbols.
- Fisherman 3: collects money symbols.
- Fisherman 4: collects money symbols AND triggers +10 respins.
- Fisherman 5: collects in the respin sub-round.
- Fisherman 6: collects.
- Fisherman 7: collects.
- Fisherman 8: collects AND triggers +10 more respins.
- Continues until the count between fishermen is less than 4 or the round naturally ends.
In our test sessions we triggered the retrigger twice — once across 18 fishermen (so two retriggers), once just hitting the 4th fisherman exactly at the end of a 20-spin original round and getting a clean +10. Three retriggers in a single round (12+ fishermen) is rare but documented in streamer clips.
Hit math — how often does the fisherman land in free spins?
Per Pragmatic Play's documentation, the fisherman lands on roughly 1 in 4-5 free spins during the bonus round. So in a 10-spin bonus you'll typically see 2-3 fishermen. In a 20-spin round (from a 5-scatter trigger), you'll see 4-5 fishermen — which is exactly the threshold for the every-4th retrigger.
This explains why 5-scatter triggers are disproportionately valuable: 20 free spins puts you right at the retrigger threshold organically, with much higher probability of chaining additional respins than a 10-spin trigger.
The math behind big bonus rounds
A big bonus round needs three things:
1. Many fishermen. Each fisherman = one collect = one payout. More fishermen = more total payouts.
2. Big piles when each fisherman lands. A fisherman who collects a 5× alone pays 5×. A fisherman who collects five money symbols totaling 200× pays 200×. The mechanic rewards delay between fishermen, because the pile grows in between.
3. The 500× money symbol. This is the single biggest possible on-screen value. Bonus rounds without a 500× cap out far below 1,000×. Bonus rounds with a 500× that gets collected can push past 1,000× single-bonus payouts — the route to the 2,100× headline ceiling.
The combination is rare. Most bonus rounds have a couple of fishermen, medium-sized piles, no 500×, and pay between 10× and 80×. Big bonus rounds need everything to align.
Strategic implications
You can't influence outcomes — it's an RNG — but you can think about expectations:
5-scatter triggers are gold. If you ever trigger from 5 scatters (20 free spins), you have measurably better odds of a big payout than a 3-scatter trigger. Don't be tempted to immediately cash out a balance after a 5-scatter trigger; the round has serious upside potential.
Don't tip the round. When the bonus ends with money symbols still on the reels that no fisherman collected, those symbols are forfeit. It's frustrating but it's the math. Some sessions end with a 100× money symbol sitting unloved on the reels. Variance.
Each retrigger compounds. Adding 10 spins to a round that already has 4-5 fishermen on the board often produces another 4-5 fishermen in the sub-round (with the new money symbols accumulating in parallel). Retriggers are exponential in payout, not linear.
Comparison with sequels' collect mechanics
Reel Kingdom evolved the collect mechanic across the franchise:
| Sequel | Collect mechanic changes |
|---|---|
| Original Big Bass Bonanza | Plain fisherman collect, every 4th triggers +10 respins |
| Bigger Bass Bonanza | Adds reel expansion (extra row after retrigger) |
| Big Bass Splash | Adds a fisherman multiplier (×2, ×3 stamped on the fisherman) |
| Big Bass Hold and Spinner | Adds Hold & Win bonus alongside the free spins |
| Big Bass Bonanza 1000 | Adds 1,000× money symbol (vs 500× in original) and multipliers |
| Big Bass Floats My Boat | Adds boat-stacking mechanic (boat moves up after fishermen, increases multiplier) |
The original has the simplest, cleanest version of the mechanic. Players who prefer the modifier-heavy sequels are choosing complexity over purity. Players who stick with the original are usually doing so because the mechanic feels right at its base form.
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Quick FAQ
Does the fisherman appear in the base game? Yes — but only as a standard substituting wild. The collect behaviour is free-spins-only.
Can the fisherman land on reels 1 or 5? No — only reels 2, 3, and 4.
What happens to money symbols when free spins end? They're forfeit if no fisherman collected them.
Are there fisherman multipliers in the original? No — the original has no multiplier on the fisherman. Sequels added that feature.
Does the every-4th retrigger reset between bonuses? Yes — the count is per-bonus, starting at zero each time you trigger free spins from the base game.
What's the most fishermen anyone's seen in a single bonus? Streamer clips have shown 15+ fishermen across heavily-retriggered sessions. Most players will see 2-4 per bonus.
Can the fisherman collect a money symbol he's standing on? Yes — he collects all visible money symbols on the reels at the moment he lands, including any in his column.
Does the fisherman always collect everything? Yes — there's no random collect rate. If a fisherman lands and a money symbol is visible, the money symbol is collected. No exceptions.
About this mechanic guide
Mechanic behaviour verified through 50+ free spins triggers across all four featured casinos in April-May 2026, plus cross-reference with Pragmatic Play's official paytable.
Gambling responsibly. Understanding mechanics doesn't change the math. Set limits before depositing. AU support: gamblinghelponline.org.au · BetStop · 18+ only.
Further Reading
Related reading in this guide: