I can't talk about how many I landed over ten this year as it was basically none. Hooked three over ten including one for sure 15 but they all came unbuttoned. Suckola! I heard of a 16 caught by a trout fisher in May.
As for what's going on with the bass I have a pet theory but it's just a theory. First of all I don't think the total number has gone down that much. I base this on the fact that all the bass I have caught and seen caught this year look as enormously fat and healthy as SP bass always did. So if their size distribution curve was screwed up you would expect to see some malnutrition or other physical evidence. Also at over 800 acres SP has a lot of carrying capacity for its bass population. Some bass have "gone up the bank" so there is some reduction, but not that much on a percentile basis.
Second, I still chart huge balls of bait everywhere just like always so that coupled with trout plants mean plenty of food. Third, while the Spots will probably compete with juvenile bass they have no impact on the big girls short term. Long term they may destroy the fishery, but short term they just don't compete with the trophy fish. Fourth, I know another guy who fishes there regularly for the non-trophy bass and his catch ratio is way down too. All the bass wouldn't disappear simultaneously. People just don't kill that many bass out of SP. Fifth, for swimbaits you need enough visibility for the bass to see the bait from any distance and SP has been a mudhole so reduced swimbait catches are probably a function of water clarity.
I tend to fish the cover myself and they just really haven't been on it thick as in years past. So where are they? Here's my theory - Bass love cover. I have seen a study where a dozen bass were put in a large circular tank. They distributed evenly all over the tank. Then they put a plank hanging over the edge and ALL the bass got under it. Then they painted a vertical stripe on the side and all the bass went over and hovered around it. Keep in mind that this was gin clear water. Now imagine what happens when the water is totally murky. It changes the visual parameters entirely. I think in really murky water bass just don't have the same need for cover whether for security, ambush or just plain instinct. I grew up fishing mudholes in the south and I know bass thrive in the mud. So where are they? All over the lake (in open water probably following the bait and/or trout) and not concentrated where we can fish them with any regularity. As any one knows who fishes SP much you probably have to put your bait in front of twenty bass to get one to bite so when they're not concentrated in spots it just gets majorly tough.
The other intangible thing is that SP was tough enough as it was, having to fish hard all day for several bites, but when it gets this tough it's just about impossible to stay focussed for a whole day. Whether this theory is right or not SP is still in deep trouble as all the things going on (carp, spots, fertilizer) will wreck it long term. Bob