I fished Yellow Creek once late two falls ago (I'm talking 35* water late fall). The guy I fished with told me very similar stories like you did about that lake. I liked what I saw that day, even though we didn't catch anything. I'd like to go back there in May and see how good that lake can be.
We have lots of "Big Bass" lakes here around Pittsburgh, and they all have the same issues as the standard lakes have. If there's a 12" limit on a lake, half the fish are 11.5", and if it's a 15" limit lake, half the fish are 14.5". I call them tournament specials.
I've told this to numerous friends around the area and other PA guys I've encountered online - What the state needs to do is stop putting so much focus on a 1 month long trout season (essentially because of warm water) and spend 3 years and dedicate that money and effort into the bass fishing. I'm betting they'd see a drastic increase in bass fishing in just 3 short years if they did a few different things.
1. Keep the bass season closed from the second Saturday of April to the second Saturday of June. Let the bass spawn and do their thing.
2. Stock some bass for once. You hear about the state stocking trout, walleye, and muskie, but never do you hear about bass being stocked. I would even be in favor of buying a "bass stamp" similar to the trout stamps if it meant the PAFBC would start stocking bass and trying to improve the populations like the do the trout. A bass can live in PA waters for 10-12-15 years, yet these trout are being dumped into streams in April and they're belly up by June.
3. Put in a slot limit. Canada and numerous states around the US have done this with walleyes with great success. I've seen it in Ontario where we go for walleye after only 3-4 years of having this law. Only let people keep bass from 10-13". Weed out the small fish, let the bigger fish grow, and all of your fish will get bigger and healthier.
