Play Demo
Four jackpot meters sit above the reels before a single spin lands. That’s the first thing you notice loading Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch 3, not the underwater backdrop, which is identical to Big Catch 2, and not the audio, which hasn’t changed either. Blueprint Gaming built the third entry in this slot series around a new collection system and a pre-bonus upgrade picker instead of a visual overhaul, and within a few spins, the net hanging above the grid starts filling with fish that feel like they’re building toward something.
Every fish or worm symbol that lands during play gets scooped into a net displayed above the reels. The net fills gradually, and when it animates, the game pauses and presents a pick-one choice from the collected fish. That pick determines which modifier fires, and the options range from a straight Cash Collect that sweeps up every fish value currently visible on the grid, to a Cash Streak that spins additional values onto existing prize positions before collecting the lot. Extra Fish forces more fish or worms into view for a guaranteed reel win, while during Power Play an additional Fisherman Add modifier drops at least one fisherman onto the reels alongside extra fish.
The net itself is visual only and doesn’t influence outcomes, but the pace at which it fills gives every spin outside the bonus a sense of accumulation that most 10-line slots lack.
Three or more boat scatters trigger the bonus round, awarding 10, 15 or 20 free games depending on how many land. Before the spins begin, the game presents a series of upgrade cards to choose from, each adding a persistent modifier that remains active for the full round. You keep picking until either the ‘Start Free Games’ card appears or five upgrades are already active, and the range of possible combinations is wide.
Available upgrades include:
The number and type of upgrades revealed before the round begins shape
The fisherman symbol doubles as a wild during the bonus and Power Play, substituting for everything except the scatter. More importantly, each fisherman on screen collects the prize value from every visible fish. Three fishermen and four fish means each prize gets collected three times.
Worms add another layer: they accumulate all fish values in view before the fisherman collects them, effectively acting as a multiplying bridge between the fish and the fisherman payout. Landing four fisherman symbols also upgrades the lowest-paying fish size into the next tier and awards extra free spins, which means the collection chain builds on itself as the round progresses.
Fish values across the seven tiers run from 2x up to 50x your stake for the standard sizes, with golden fish carrying values anywhere between 20x and 1,000x.
Power Play costs five times the standard stake and strips the reels down to only cash prize fish, fisherman (Cash Collect) symbols, and bonus scatters. Every winning spin in this mode either pays a cash value directly or triggers the bonus, which makes it a fundamentally different experience from standard play. You can switch between the two modes at any point, and the separate bet range of £0.50 to £5,000 reflects the higher cost and more concentrated action.
Two completely separate reel experiences sit inside Fishin’ Frenzy The Big Catch 3, both running on the same 5×3 grid with 10 fixed paylines. In the regular mode, bets range from £0.10 to £1,000 and the full symbol set is active, while Power Play operates on its own scale from £0.50 to £5,000 at five times whatever base stake you set.
Switching between the two modes is immediate. Pressing the Power Play button opens a dedicated stake selector, and pressing Standard Play returns you to the full symbol set. In standard mode, fisherman symbols are inactive on the reels and only appear during the bonus, which means the collection system and wilds are exclusive to Power Play and free spins outside of the Fishin’ Frenzy net triggers.
The following values apply to play at a total stake of £ 1.00. Payouts adjust proportionally at other bet levels.
| Symbol | ×5 | ×4 | ×3 | ×2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fisherman (Wild) — Gold | £200.00 | £20.00 | £5.00 | £0.50 |
| Fisherman (Wild) — Standard | £200.00 | £20.00 | £5.00 | £0.50 |
| Pelican | £200.00 | £20.00 | £5.00 | £0.50 |
| Fishing Reel | £100.00 | £15.00 | £2.50 | — |
| Life Ring | £50.00 | £10.00 | £2.00 | — |
| Tackle Box | £50.00 | £10.00 | £2.00 | — |
| Fish/Worms (Any) | £20.00 | £5.00 | £2.00 | — |
| A | £10.00 | £2.00 | £0.50 | — |
| K | £10.00 | £2.00 | £0.50 | — |
| Q | £5.00 | £1.00 | £0.50 | — |
| J | £5.00 | £1.00 | £0.50 | — |
| 10 | £5.00 | £1.00 | £0.50 | — |
Fish symbols carry individual cash values that are collected by fisherman wilds during the bonus and Power Play. The seven standard fish tiers pay 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, 20x, 25x, and 50x the base stake, while golden fish carry values ranging from 20x up to 1,000x. Collecting four fisherman symbols during the bonus upgrades the lowest fish tier to the next size and awards additional free games.
The default RTP sits at 95%, with operator variants available at 93% and 92%. Volatility is medium-high, and the maximum win caps at 10,000x the base stake. Four fixed jackpots (Mini, Minor, Major, and Mega) are displayed above the reels and scale with the current bet.
There is no bonus buy option, so the free spins round can only be reached through scatter triggers during normal play or Power Play.
The upgrade picker is what gives Big Catch 3 its own identity within the franchise. Choosing up to five stackable modifiers before the free spins begin means no two bonus rounds play the same way, and the four fixed jackpots add a payout layer the earlier entries didn't carry. The upgrade picker before free spins adds genuine variety to the bonus, and stacking something like +Super alongside Respin can produce rounds where the fishermen keep collecting in loops. A 10,000x upper limit keeps expectations in check, well below Big Catch 2's 50,000x, but the four fixed jackpots and the layered collection chain mean the path to the top end has more moving parts.
Fish started filling the net almost immediately. Within the first ten spins, several had been collected, and the net kept gaining weight across the session. On spin 28, the net finally animated and offered a pick, which landed on Cash Collect. Two fish were visible at the time, worth £5 and £2, so the payout was £7. Functional, not dramatic. The net kept on filling after that, shaking occasionally in a way that felt like a trigger was imminent, but it held off for another stretch before eventually awarding a Cash Streak for £30.
Regular play lasted over 100 spins without a single free spin trigger, which pushed us into Power Play at £5. The difference was immediate and obvious, with three collects in the first four spins, with individual wins of £26, £48, and then a run that peaked at £74. Where standard mode had long, quiet stretches between net triggers, Power Play produced cash on most spins because the reel set only contains fish, fishermen, and scatters.
Switching back to standard mode for another 50 spins reinforced the contrast. Nothing landed. No feature, no net trigger, no scatter in sight. Then, just as the session felt like it had run its course, the net animated again and the fish pick awarded 10 free games. The upgrade picker dealt Trail Boost and +2 Fisherman, and midway through the round, a fish upgrade fired, pushing the two smallest tiers into the next sizes and adding 5 more spins for a total of 15. The round paid £80.50, not a blockbuster but enough to prove the bonus structure works when it finally connects. Without a bonus buy, reaching that point still depends entirely on patience, and The Big Catch 2 at least offered a higher peak to justify the wait.
If you’re familiar with The Big Catch 2, you’ll find the free spins structure here quite similar: fishermen gathering fish values, worms serving as accumulators, and the trail upgrading fish sizes. The key differences are the upgrade picker that occurs before the round and the jackpot pots displayed above the reels. Unlike Fishin’ Frenzy Megaways, which has a different reel engine, an RTP of 96.60%, and a potential top payout of 50,000x, Big Catch 3 offers a more focused, collection-based experience. That puts it in the middle of the range.
The 95% RTP won’t win any arguments in a review of the series, and the recycled presentation makes this feel more like a feature update than a new game. But the upgrade picker is a strong addition, and Power Play in this version has enough concentrated action to hold a session on its own. For players already invested in the Fishin’ Frenzy series who want a different kind of bonus structure without leaving familiar territory, Big Catch 3 fills that spot. Just don’t expect the top-end potential the rest of the family offers.
