Bar length is a visual scale of the multiplier ladder, not a probability chart. Every fish symbol is also a MONEY symbol; it locks in one of these values, times total bet, on every spin. WILD symbols collect the values shown during FREE SPINS.
During FREE SPINS, every wild collected adds toward the next level. Every fourth wild retriggers the round for 10 more free spins and steps the collection multiplier up: 2x at level 2, 3x at level 3, 10x at level 4. Level 4 is the ceiling; no further retrigger is possible after it.
Getting into free spins
Three or more bass fish SCATTER symbols across the five reels trigger the round: three lands 10 free spins, four lands 15, five lands 20. Land only two scatters and the base game still has a play left in it, with a chance of a respin that drops the scatters a row, or a hook pulling in one more.
What wild does once spins start
The fisherman WILD covers every reel during free spins and substitutes for anything except SCATTER. Its real job is collection: it gathers every MONEY value on screen, feeding the gauge above. Zero to five modifiers can be attached to a round before it starts: More Fish, More Fisherman, More Dynamite Hooks and Bazookas, Start From Level 2, and +2 Spins.
Buying in and the hard cap
Skip the wait and buy the round for 100x current total bet, with the entry spin landing 3, 4 or 5 scatters at random. Either way in, the ceiling is fixed: hit 5000x total bet and the round stops immediately, the win pays out, remaining spins are forfeited.