Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch

Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch Slot Review

Slot Provider: Blueprint Gaming

RTP: 95.32% | Variance: Medium | Maximum Win: 50,000x

Our Score: 8.0

Play at Grand Ivy Casino

WHY YOU CAN TRUST THIS REVIEW: The information and opinions on this page are the result of an comprehensive process of information gathering and live game testing by the gambling experts who work at allslotsites.com. Find out more here.

About Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch

Reviewed by:

Published Date: 4th July 2024

How We Review Slot Games

We test and rate all slot games across 5 criteria, assigning a score out of 10 for each and an overall score that is an average of the 5. To build an accurate assessment of each game we gather information from the supplier and play in real play or demo mode. Find out more.

Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch is another in the popular series by Blueprint Gaming. With a slightly reduced RTP of 95.32% you trade a little return for the option to shoot for much bigger wins, 50,000x your stake in fact. Played on 5 reels and 3 rows, this slot  has just 10 paylines, keeping it classic and simple. There is a tweak to the famous free spins round – with symbol upgrades via the Big Catch Fish Upgrade feature you can turn all fish into 50x prize symbols for whopping payouts!

Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch Game Information

  • Release Date: 24.06.21
  • RTP: 95.32%
  • Variance: Medium
  • Maximum Win: 50,000x
  • Progressive Jackpot: No
  • Reels: 5
  • Rows: 3
  • Paylines: 10
  • Minimum Stake: £0.10
  • Theme: Fishing
  • Features: Wilds, Free Spins, Big Catch Fish Upgrade
  • Format: 5-Reel
  • Series: Fishin Frenzy

Testing Notes: Here’s What Happened When We Played Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch

IMPORTANT: To give you an accurate assessment of the games we review our writers play 200 spins. Whilst this is a useful tool to help us review games and to give an example of what might happen when you play, keep in mind that 200 spins is only a very small sample and cannot be used to accurately predict what might happen over another 200 spins. The outcome of all slots play is always random.

Boom Or Bust? Our Session By The Numbers

Test spins and results analysis by Mark Wadie on 04.07.24

Results from 200 spins with real money on Fishin Frenzy The Big Catch at Casumo.

  • Stake Size: £0.1
  • Start balance: £1,004.85
  • End balance: £1,014.16
  • Win Rate: 15.5% (31 winning spins in 200)
  • Biggest Win: 166.5x
  • Free Spins Round: 2

Firstly, the base game win rate in this session was low, at just 15.5%, which is not uncommon for these games. Most of the RTP seems to be loaded into the free spins round, so I saw a lot of dead spins and small wins before hitting the main event. In this session I was lucky enough to trigger free spins twice in 200 spins which is unusual (normally you would see one round at most).

Fishin Frenzy The Big Catch 166.5x win
A 166.5x win from the free spins feature

These produced wins of 166.5x and 56x. Not bad, and an indicator of the potential of this round! Things can get really interesting if you can land 4 fisherman symbols to extend the round and upgrade the low value fish symbols. That only happened once for me and it will be a tough ask, but that is where any hope of getting close to 50,000x can be met.

What We Liked

  • Symbol upgrades in the free spins round
  • Still the same classic design and soundtrack
  • Premium symbols are worth up to 200x for 5
  • Medium variance gives an even win distribution
  • Huge 50,000x max win

What We Didn't like

  • Slightly under average RTP

Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch Review Scores

  • Theme and Design 7
  • RTP and Variance 7
  • Maximum Win 9
  • Symbols and Paytable 9
  • Features and Gameplay 8

What Our Reviewer Says ...

"A good option for those who like playing for bigger wins than those found in other Fishin Frenzy games"

Overall Score: 8.0

Theme & Design

Our Score 7

Like Most Fishin Frenzy Slots  – It’s The Same … But Different!

If you’re a fan of the original Fishin’ Frenzy game then you’re guaranteed to like the design of Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch, as really not a whole lot has changed. Blueprint Gaming has stuck to the tried and tested formula, bringing back the same popular pay symbols, on the iconic blue reels.

Fishin' Frenzy The Big Catch by Blueprint Gaming
Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch

The soundtrack has shifted slightly for the loading menu, but other than that, the game is more or less identical to the original. With that said, if you’ve got a design this popular is there really any need to mess with it?

RTP and Variance

Our Score 7

What is RTP?

RTP (Return to Player) refers to the amount a game will pay out in cash prizes expressed as a percentage of all the money wagered on that game. For example, a 96% RTP means a game will pay out £96 for every £100 wagered. This is an average number and will vary from one session to the next.  Read more here.

What is Variance?

Variance refers to how far a game will deviate from its RTP over time. High variance games deviate a lot and produce uneven win distributions and unexpected windfalls. Low variance games provide a more stable and even distribution of wins. Read more here.

With an RTP of 95.32% this game falls just under that magic 96% rate. However, the trade off is the chance to shoot for that much bigger max win. The volatility on this game is medium, meaning there’ll be a mixture of larger and smaller wins, fairly evenly spread out throughout your session. If you’re on a tighter bankroll and looking for a lower volatility game with a slightly increased RTP then consider the original Fishin’ Frenzy game.

We’ve seen this game running at lower RTP rates (92%) at some slot sites. Blueprint make multiple versions and leave it to the site owner to choose. So check the RTP on the paytable screen before you play. We recommend playing at MrQ which has this slot at 95.32%.

Maximum Win

Our Score 9

What Is Maximum Win?

Maximum win refers to the maximum amount a player can win from one spin. It is expressed as a multiple of the stake. For example, where the maximum win is 100,000x, from a £1 stake, the maximum win would be £100,000.  

The top payout is the one big change between this slot and its predecessors. Here, you can haul in a really big catch, of up to 50,000x your bet. That’s right up there in terms of fishing slots. In fact, you need to make a move to shark fishing if you want to get any higher, Push Gaming’s Razor Returns is perhaps the only competitor.

Explore Games With Similar RTP, Variance and Maximum Win

Like the numbers? Here are some more games you might want to try.

Slot SiteSupplierRTPVarianceTop Payout
Fishin’ FrenzyBlueprint Gaming96.12%Low5,000xPlay Here
Fishin’ Frenzy Even Bigger CatchBlueprint Gaming95%Medium-High50,000xPlay Here
Fishin’ Frenzy The Big SplashBlueprint Gaming95%Medium4,000xPlay Here
Big Bass Bonanza MegawaysPragmatic Play96.7%High4,000xPlay Here
Big Bass Floats My BoatPragmatic Play96.07%High5,000xPlay Here

Symbols and Paytable

Our Score 9

Played on a simple 5 reels and 3 rows, this slot offers has 10 paylines. To trigger wins, just match three of the same symbols (or more) on one of the ten paylines from left to right, starting with the leftmost reel. If you match pelican symbols, you only need two. 

Fishin' Frenzy The Big Catch Paytable
The paytable with 200x for 5 top paying pelican symbols

There are 9 pay symbols, plus a wild symbol and a scatter symbol that we’ll come to later. The low-paying symbols are the card suits (10, J, Q, K, A) which pay between 0.5x the bet for 3, up to 10x the bet for 5. The premium symbols are the bait box, the lifebuoy, the fishing rod, and the pelican. These pay from 2x your bet for 3 up to 200x your bet for 5. 

The remaining symbols are the blue fish which come in seven different sizes. They pay from 1x the bet for 3 fish, up to 20x the bet for 5 fish, no matter their size in the base game. The wild symbol is the fisherman who can substitute for all symbols to complete a payline. The scatter symbol only activates the free spins round if you land three or more at once.

Features and Gameplay

Our Score 8

Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch keeps it fairly straightforward when it comes to features. Thankfully, they’ve kept the ever-popular ‘fishing’ round, with just a few tweaks. Let’s take a look at them.

Wild Symbol

First up is the wild symbol, which is the fisherman. In the base game he substitutes for all pay symbols. In the free spins game he acts as part of the cash-collect feature, ‘reeling in’ whichever fish land on the reels. In the Big Catch Fish Upgrade feature he can also upgrade the fish that land, and trigger more free spins, but we’ll cover that in more detail shortly.

Scatter Symbol

The scatter symbol is a fishing boat (aptly named Scatter). If you land 3 scatter symbols then the free spins round begins with 10 free spins. If you land 4, you get 15 free spins, and 5 gets you 20. Once you’re in the free spins feature, you can’t land scatters. 

Fishin' Frenzy The Big Catch - 3 Scatters
3 Scatters triggers the free spins round

Fish Symbols

The fish symbols come in seven different sizes, each with its own cash value, 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x and a whopping 50x the bet. In the base game the fish make wins regardless of their size, paying up to 20x the bet for 5x symbols. In the free spins feature the value of the fish also comes into play. Let’s take a look at how that works now.

Free Spins

Once you land 3 or more scatter symbols the free spins round starts. The round works like normal except a clever cash collect feature, probably the single feature that made this series so popular. If a fisherman lands on the reels at any point he collects all fish that are currently on the reels, taking into account their cash prize number (from 2x up to 50x the bet).

The Big Catch Fish Upgrade

Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch includes a key update to how the the cash collect feature works. There’s a little display to the left of the free spins game that counts up how many fishermen land. Once you land four fishermen, the Big Catch Fish Upgrade switches out the lowest  paying fish symbol currently on the reels and replaced it with a more valuable one. It also gives you an additional 5 free spins.

The Big Catch - Upgrade in free spins
Landing 4 fishermen extends the round by 5 spins and upgrades fish symbols

This gets even more exciting when you trigger this upgrade three or more times. Eventually, all of the fish that land in the free spins round will have cash values of 50x the bet. Allowing you to make those monster wins.

The Final Verdict

Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch is a solid addition to this popular series. The game is almost identical to the original, but with a couple of clever mechanics that allow for far bigger wins. Though we didn’t encounter any massive wins in our trials, the maths checks out and those top values definitely are possible using the Big Catch Fish Upgrade.

It’s a shame that the RTP has taken a tiny hit, but for a max win of 50,000x your bet, this is to be expected. If you’re a fan of the original game but always wanted to catch some bigger fish, this slot is a great choice.

Useful Tips When Playing Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch

Remember, online slots are games of chance, there is NO strategy that can improve your odds of winning. However, reading our review and following these tips will help you get the most out of your time playing this slot game.

1. Count Your Fishermen!

During free spins the name of the game, apart from landing fish, is collecting fishermen as these trigger symbol upgrades for bigger wins.

2. Look For Scatters

All the best stuff happens in the free spins round so keep an eye out for those boats with SCATTER written on them. You need THREE or more to make it happen.

3. Play At Low Stakes

This is a medium variance slot so it can be tight at times. To avoid burn out you can spin from just 10p a play.

4. Play At Our Recommended Slot Sites

We have chosen the sites on this page because they all scored high in our reviews and they are licensed by the UK Gambling Commission. That makes them fair and safe places to play slots.

Who Made Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch?

  • Name: Blueprint Gaming
  • Established: 2001
  • UK License: 6516
  • Total Games: 300 +
  • Known For: Feature-packed slots, TV and Movie slots, Megaways™ games
  • Popular Slots: The Goonies, Ted Megaways, Eye of Horus, Rick and Morty Megaways, Gorilla Gold
Find More Blueprint Gaming slots

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