Among the many game themes found at online casinos, one that appears on a surprisingly high volume of slots is fishing. That relaxing pastime of sitting on the bank of a river or a pond waiting for a bite at the end of the line may seem like a world away from the high-energy, stimulating world of casinos.
Fishing is seen as being one of the most laid-back hobbies there is, featuring a lot of downtime until something happens. But within that, there is perhaps a similarity between angling and slot machines, because when playing slots, players kind of set out the bait in the form of a stake, and then wait for the big bite of a bonus game or jackpot.
Regardless of the association, fishing-themed casino slots are a big thing. Players from the US, UK and many other countries can visit an online casino and find many of these games. Also operators that welcome Filipino players and are listed on platforms such as casinosonline.ph, have plenty of fishing slots.
Fishing Is Popular
Fishing is probably a lot more popular than may first be imagined. In the US, for example, a record 57.7 million Americans aged six and over participated in recreational fishing in 2023, including freshwater, saltwater and fly fishing. In the UK, it’s estimated that there are between 1 and 4 million regular or occasional anglers, including those partaking in competitive sporting action.
So it’s something that hooks a lot of people and while it may be seen as being a little more old-school than a lot of modern, tech-driven hobbies such as photography and video gaming, angling remains extremely popular.
Because of that popularity, it’s natural that anyone into the sport will look for that theme when visiting an online casino.
How Popular Are Fishing-Themed Games?
If you drop by any online casino and search for a related term like “fish”, “fishing” or “bass” then you will have a lot of results thrown back at you. Some online casino platforms go as far as having a dedicated section just for fishing games.
So they can certainly be found out there, and one of the most prominent ones is the Big Bass Bonanza series from developers Pragmatic Play. This is such a hugely popular slot that it is often seen incorporated into welcome bonus offers, where online casinos include a bundle of free spins for the game.
The original Big Bass Bonanza was released in 2020 and it remains one of Pragmatic Play’s most successful slots. It’s a standard 5×3 format slot with 10 fixed paylines and carries an RTP of 96.71% which is a good average where players can get frequent payouts. The game is bright and colourful, featuring fish, fishing weights, tackle boxes and more against an underwater backdrop.
Big Bass Splash, Big Bass Bonanza Megaways, and Bigger Bass Splash are further games within the popular series. Once a particular slot has become hugely successful, it’s extremely common to see developers expand on it with different versions. So for example, you’ll see many Fishin’ Pots of Gold games with themes including Christmas, Gold Blitz and Gold Blitz Extreme.
Fishin’ Frenzy from Reel Time Gaming is another slot casino game to carry this theme. It’s very similar to Big Bass Bonanza but was launched way before it, back in 2014. Those two are arguably the biggest in the fishing-theme genre, and they look very similar and play similarly in terms of bonus and gameplay.
Fishin’ Frenzy also has 10 paylines on a 5×3 grid and is regarded as being the original, runs with a good, solid RTP of 96.12% carrying a maximum win of x50,000.
The Big Catch
All slot machines focus on landing that big catch, which of course is a jackpot and so, in that sense, fishing also resonates with casino gaming. Another thing which adds to the appeal of fishing-themed slots is that they come in many different forms.
From games like the Fishin’ Frenzy and Big Bass to the Fishin’ Pots of Gold series, to Fishin’ Reels there are a lot of jackpots, progressives, megaways and standard game mechanics in play, including a huge range of different in-game features and bonuses.
That means under the umbrella of a fishing theme, there is something to suit any player’s gaming preference, which just boosts the popularity.
Fun and Games
Fishing is one of the biggest pastimes in the US, which just goes to sum up how far and wide it reaches. When people visit online casino sites they are naturally drawn to themes that appeal to them and have some link to their interests.
So while fishing-themed slots will appeal to anglers, they are also bright, engaging games that anyone can easily be hooked by. Slot games are purposefully designed to appeal to as many people as possible, and seeing cute fish icons in conjunction with big jackpot prizes, for example, will get non-anglers fully interested in casino fishing games as well.