Only a decade ago, there were maybe just a handful of fishing themed-slots in the world of online casinos. Back then, there were plenty of shark-themed slots circling the popular game charts. Now, however, the waters are teeming with fishing-themed slots.
Each of them puts its own spin on the formula, but for the most part, they all feature the same core feature. The demand is there, so just about every developer worth its salt has brought out a slot in the fishy theme. So, where did this trend come from? Was it the record viewership for shows like Major League Fishing? Perhaps not.
Overfishing Made Impossible
Source: Unsplash
You’d struggle to not bump into a fishing slot when scrolling through any given online casino popular game page. That goes for the new game pages, too. Two main keywords guide the naming of most of these fishy spinners, and those are ‘bass’ and, more predictably, ‘fish.’
The prevalence of slots having ‘bass’ in the name spawns from the slot game that proved to be the catalyst for the craze. Released in 2020, Big Bass Bonanza from Reel Kingdom and Pragmatic Play is seen as the fishing game that led to all other developer studios casting a line into the waters.
The Big Bass series itself feature many, many species now. Essentially, every additional headline feature, style of slot, and relevant adjacent theme has been added to create a comprehensive collection. There’s Big Bass Bonanza 3-Reeler, Big Bass Halloween II, Big Bass Hold & Spinner Megaways, and so many more.
To be fair, fishing itself is very popular. Around one in ten people in developed countries are casual anglers and go fishing for fun. Given the similarities between sitting and waiting for the line to scream and spinning for a win on slots, it’d be easy to see why fishing slots have picked up steam. Yet, the core reason goes beyond the Big Bass series.
Making Full Use of the Theme
Source: Pexels
A full six years before Big Bass Bonanza was splashing around online casinos, there was a different slot that laid the groundwork for this fishing frenzy. That game was, of course, Fishin’ Frenzy from Blueprint. The 10-payline, 5×3 video slot is relatively unassuming. Well, that is until you trigger the bonus round.
Here, you just need to land the Fisherman Wild symbol to collect up all of the Fish symbols on the screen. Each of these Fish symbols has its own value, from low to high instant pays. It’s much like in fishing for sport where you don’t know what you’ll catch, and you’re always hoping to reel in a big one!
However, as it was a low-medium volatility slot at a time when high volatility games were becoming increasingly desirable, Fishin’ Frenzy kind of sunk below the waves for a while. Big Bass and its medium-high volatility play skyrocketed the fandom for the mechanic again, which in turn brought players back to the Fishin’ Frenzy waters.
Fishin’ Frenzy invented the core mechanic that has led to this slot theme craze. Luckily now, the Fishin’ Frenzy series has diversified and caught back up to make the selection even more diverse.
