Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake

Theme and Design

Mixing Arthurian Legend With Bass Fishing - Whatever Next?!

What a weird mash up this is. Pragmatic have found a way to mix the classic Big Bass series, which started a few years back with bass fishing in good ol’ American outback, with the legend of King Arthur, via the story of the lake from which the Excalibur Sword was drawn. What you get is the same Big Bass 5x3 reel set submerged in water along with a sword encased in stone and the wreck of an ancient castle, all lit up with a weird golden hue. And, of course, an upbeat medieval soundtrack. It’s a bizarre idea and begs the question, whatever next?! But then again, it’s fun and any Big Bass fan will enjoy the chance to fish in new waters.

RTP and Variance

As with most Pragmatic Play slots, there are three possible RTP settings for Big Bass Secrets of the Golden Lake. They are 96.07%, 95.07% and 94.07%. You want to find a slot site that runs this game at the optimum level of 96.07% to give yourself the best chance of a positive return on your wagering. My recommendation would be to play at MrQ from Lindar Media which consistently runs slots at the maximum RTP available.

You can check RTP on Pragmatic Play games where you spin by hitting the ‘I’ link under the reels once you’ve loaded up the slot, then scrolling through the pages until you see Return To Player.

Like every other Big Bass game this is a high variance slot, so it will be volatile with an uneven win distribution.

Maximum Win

The maximum payout here is a disappointing 5,000x. That takes us back to the kind of potential found in early games in the series like Big Bass Splash. If you want to play for higher prizes you could try a later version like Day at the Races or Hold and Spinner, both of which max out at a better 10,000x.

Or, check our list of the highest max win slots from Pragmatic Play for more high potential adventures on the reels.

Symbols and Paytable

Secrets of the Golden Lake uses the standard 5 reels and 3 rows game format preferred throughout the series with 10 paylines in play. Wins are triggered by landing 3 or more matching icons across paylines from left to right, starting at the left most reel.

The paytable will have a familiar look to it for anyone who has played other Big Bass slots. There are 10 symbols. They are the 5 low payers – 10, Jack, Queen, King and Ace – valued at from 0.2x for 3 10s up to 10x for 5 Aces. The premiums are the bass fish, tackle box, may fly, rod and reel and float. These are valued at from 1x for 3 bass up to 200x for 5 floats.

There is also a Fisherman Wild but he only appears in the free spins round and he has no pay value of his own. Instead, he substitutes for all pay symbols to complete paylines AND collects the cash value displayed on fish symbols. More on that in the next part.

Features and Gameplay

Like all Big Bass slots, Secrets of the Golden Lake is all about hitting the free spins round. Here is how it works.

Firstly, you’ll need to land 3, 4 or 5 of the Big Bass scatters to trigger the round. They land on any reel. That gets you 10, 15 or 20 free spins for the regular free spins round or just 10 for the Golden Lake free spins round.

Now, if you land just TWO scatters, then all is not lost because on occasion a THIRD scatter may randomly be added when the spin ends. OR, if your two scatters can drop down one row each on their respective reels without dropping off, then they do so before a re-spin takes place on the other 3 reels, with the aim of landing that third scatter.

Pick Me Game

Before free spins start, a Pick Me game takes place to decide which free spins round you get. A pick is made from 12 cards to reveal either the regular free spins or the Secrets of the Golden Lake free spins.

Regular Free Spins Round

During regular free spins, fish symbols land with cash values printed on them. These may be 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, 50x, 100x, 250x, 500x, 1,666x, 2,500x or 5,000x. IF a fisherman wild lands then he collects up the total value of all cash symbols visible and they are paid out.

When fisherman wild symbols land they are also collected. And every 4^th one to be collected extends the round by 10 spins. Also, a multiplier is applied to all cash symbol collections at 2x when 4 wilds are collected, 3x when 8 are collected and 10x when 12 are collected.

After 12 wilds are collected there are no more free spins or multipliers to be added.

Secrets of the Golden Lake Free Spins Round

The Golden Lake free spins round is more like a classic Cash Collect game. The standard reels are replaced with a new set onto which only cash symbols, fishman wilds and blanks may drop.

You get 10 spins and cash symbols pay either when they drop onto paylines OR when the fisherman wild lands at the same time.

The fishman wilds are also collected. When 4 have dropped, then the round extends by 10 spins and a 2x multiplier is applied to all wins. When 8 have dropped, 10 more spins are awarded and the multiplier goes up to 3x. When 12 have dropped, 10 more spins are awarded again and the multiplier goes up to 10x.

Near Miss Features

As with other Big Bass games, Pragmatic Play have added ‘near miss’ features to BOTH free spins rounds.

So, if a fisherman wilds land WITHOUT cash symbols then cash symbols may be randomly added OR a curtain may be drawn across to change ALL symbols bar the fishman wilds into new symbols, potentially including cash ones.

And if cash symbols land WITHOUT fisherman wilds then a hook may appear and randomly pull one reel up to reveal a fisherman wild.

And that’s your lot!