About This Slot
We are now up to about the eighth Big Bass slot in this series that is unexpectedly turning into a Pragmatic calling card. Who would have thought in the age of innovation with studios like Nolimit City and Hacksaw Gaming cranking cranking out dark and menacing hits, a basic slot about fishing with wilds and free spins would set the world alight. But its simplicity is what makes it special. Cheerful fishermen and stacks of wilds and multipliers is all you need.
And the good news is, to keep us intrigued, for this Spring 2023 release Pragmatic have added a Hold and Spin round and pushed the potential up way higher than what came before.
RTP, Variance and Top Payout
Big Bass Bonanza Hold and Spinner has a variable RTP like all Pragmatic Play slots. UK slot sites offer it at the lower setting of 94.07%. To verify this, check the game info screen once the slot has loaded up. Scroll through to the Game Rules screen page where volatility and RTP are published.
Variance is high, like all slots in this series – so don’t expect the game to be too kind. However, the combination of free spins and progressive multipliers in the bonus round suggests Hold and Spinner can go off big time at any time. This game has the highest top payout of all Big Bass slots at 10,000x. If that is not enough for you, try taking a spin on another March 2023 release from Pragmatic – Cowboy Coins with a top payout of 30,000x.
Symbols and Graphics
Hold and Spinner plays on a standard 5 reel and 3 row reelset with 10 active paylines. Landing 3 identical symbols across a line from left to right triggers a payout.
All symbols from low payers to premiums, return a good value at both ends of the scale. The low payers are the cards, 10 through to Ace, with a 10x payout for five Aces. Premiums are the fishing gear – tackle box, rod and reel, fish, fly and floats. They are valued at up to 200x for 5 of the top paying premium symbols.
Look out as well for the wild which subsitutes in for all other symbols to complete paylines but doesn’t have a payout value itself. Scatters, as usual, do the job of triggering the free spins round.
What We Like
Higher top win than previous BB slots
Cheerful, fun vibe with bright design
3 re-triggers for free spins
Landing coins re-sets spins on H&W
What We Don't Like
Much more of what came before
Low Pragmatic RTP setting
Gameplay and Features
Collect Wilds in the Free Spins Round to Unlock Multipliers
The free spins round is unlocked by landing 3, 4 or 5 scatters to get you 10, 15 or 20 spins.
The name of the game now is Wilds – collect as many as you can. Not only do they carry out their standard role of helping complete paylines but now they are also absorbing the value of any fish symbols that land at the same time.
Above the reels is a Wild Meter which shows how many wilds have been collected in the round so far. There are spaces for up to 9 to be collected. Every third wild collected earns you another 10 spins and increases the multiplier applied to fish values to 2x, 3x then 10x.
After each batch of 10 spins ends, the next 10 play with the enhanced multiplier value activated.
Special Hold and Spinner Round With Locked Coins and Re-Spins
The new bonus feature here is a lock and re-spin, in keeping with the theme called Hold and Spinner. Special Coins with values of 1x to 2,000x can land at any time during the base game. When three land at once, Hold and Spinner is triggered.
A new 5×3 reel set with a waterfall motif takes centre stage, coins that triggered the round are carried over and lock in place, and 4 spins ensue. ONLY coins and blanks can now land. After each spin, the value of all coins on the reels is added and paid out. If any new coins land then the counter resets, though they don’t lock in.
The round continues until you run out of spins.
More Games Like Big Bass Hold and Spinner Slot
Big Bass Splash by Pragmatic Play – The fifth in the series, arriving last June, has a very similar format with free spins where wilds are collected above the reels to trigger multipliers. There are also Bazookas which help upgrade symbols. However, it has a lower top payout of just 5,000x.
Christmas Big Bass Bonanza by Pragmatic Play – Alternatively try this festive edition stacked with free spins, multipliers and SANTA wilds. A fun game, but sadly running with just a 2,100x potential.
Where to Play Big Bass Hold and Spinner Slot – Further Recommendations
Temple Nile – You can play all of Pragmatic Play’s slots at this high-quality White Hat Gaming casino with over 2,500 games in its catalogue. Live since 2018, Temple Nile has a big following in the UK thanks to its cool Egyptian theme and loyalty program. Deposit from £20. Paypal accepted.
Casumo – Or try Casumo, one of our favourite UK slot sites with more than 2,900 games to try. A fun loyalty program with levels up and rewards and hourly reel races with £1,000s in prizes make this a compelling casino experience.
Our Verdict
There is little to choose between the Big Bass series of slots. Wilds, symbol collections and free spins are pretty much the format each time. However, Hold and Spinner has given us something new to think about with an enhanced potential and new bonus feature.
The top win of 10,000x if a welcome evolution from what came before. At this time, knocking out a high variance slot with a 5,000x top win, or, even worse, 2,100x (and at Christmas!!!) just isn’t going to fly. So cranking the potential right up to 10,000x is long overdue.
As far as the Hold and Win feature goes. It’s no ground-breaking Money Train, or Cowboy Coins if you want to stick with Pragmatic. All you do is sit back and hope to land as many coins as possible … on repeat! But that’s ok because Big Bass isn’t about crazy innovation, it’s just a feel good slot with a nice theme and fun features. Which is why Hold and Spinner will keep fans of the series happy.

Good