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Consistently catching big bass out of this State Park lake probably won't happen. I doubt there are a lot of bigger bass in the lake. It sounds to me like the bass are stockpiled (too crowded). The bluegill have a lot of cover which makes predation difficult for the bass. Too many weeds allow for alot of baby bass, but you generally have poor growth due to the overall numbers. If the average size of the bass is 10-12", the best thing for better growth would be to begin removing the bass. Your major problem is that the regulations and other management decisions are out your hand. I suggest contacting the district fisheries biologist and discussing their management goals for this particular lake. They may not be trying for a big bass lake, and if this is the case, I'd get a list of lakes that better fit your fishing preference.

We managed (Missouri Department of Conservation) one lake in particular just for quality panfish (crappie, bluegill, and redear). The bass were numerous and stockpiled and this helped us achieve our goals. We had a 15" length limit that kept the bass piled up. As a result, we had awesome sizes of the panfish. Anglers then opted for better bass so we impletemented a 12-15" protected slot for the bass. People were particularly encouraged to keep the bass in the 10-14" size range and they have. The bass density is decreasing, but the average size is increasing. Unfortunately, I'm slowly watching the average size of the panfish decrease. The bass aren't numerous enough to keep the panfish in check and angler exploitation isn't terribly high. This lake is deep, clear and contains a lot of submerged vegetation so it sounds similar to the lake you fish.

You do have trout and we don't. They just can't survive the summers where I'm out. In fact, our thermocline sets up at about 12' and there aren't many fish below this level (no oxygen). I worked in Tennessee for a couple of years and I can remember fishing Dale Hollow Reservoir. That lake had what we called a "two-story" fishery that had the trout cruising the deeper depths. That situation just won't work where I'm at. They could live during our winters, and I guarantee the bass growth would increase. Trout are easy for the bass to eat....just a long, slimy snack that's easy to choke down. But if you have too many bass, you can expect poor growth.