I fish the shallows on my local reservior at night with topwater, I usually do pretty well with catching hybrid bass.  I noticed that although fishing in spots where LMB and SMB would be, they don't really hit the topwater baits as often as i would think.  Maybe 1 LMB or SMB for every 25 or 30 Hybrid bass caught.  I don't get it? There are high populations of both LMB and SMB in the lake, where are they? >

My question is, do you think that the larger and more aggressive Hybrid bass that come in the the shallows to feed on the herring are spooking the LMB and SMB and pushing them out of the shallows and into deeper water?

I have given this much thought and this is my only guess?

What do you guys think?

No I don't think they are going anywhere.  I have caught lots of hybrid and white bass that are hitting surface baits or are feeding on shad on the surface.

Those other "lazy" bass are also there.  They just don't expend the energy to chase stuff.  They tend to lay below the action and feed on the injured baitfish that flutter down.

Use a sinking lipless crank, spoon, or other type bait.  If you can get it past the agressive fish you should be able to hook up with more smb and lmb.  However, it is a lot of fun to catch those hybrids on any kind of bait.

are you fishing near the spillway?