Well dude, Coyote has been kinda tough this year, so don't feel too bad. It sounds like your goal is to get a big one there, and if that's the case, it's a fairly simple forumula for success.

The first thing you said was at some point during every trip you threw big fish baits. That's good, but what if you threw the big fish baits the whole trip evey trip? That's what's going to get you a big one. A spinnerbait is a good bait, but it's not a big fish bait. I don't care how big of a spinnerbait you use, it's just not a big fish lure consistently.

Losing 4 fish on the 7" slammer with 1/0 round bend gammies is pretty nuts. It sounds like you have the right lure and hooks. What about the rod? If the rod is too wimpy you're not going to get them good on the hookset. The other thing is to keep on them hard after you hook them. I have not had very many fish at all jump on me in the dark, or even jump and do a headshake with the Slammer in general. With the big baits they are usually too stunned to do that kind of thing like they would with a jig. If you hook them, keep your rod down and wind with 25lb, they should come right in. Nico knows how to do this :)

The other thing I gotta say is that the fish you are spooking are probably not bass. I know you've been wading the south end and there are a ton of carp back in there. The carp will lay up really shallow and bolt off the bank really fast. Bass almost never ever act like that. I've seen a few bass swirl and swim off the bank, but that's pretty rare. If you want a big one, go to the deeper water. The big ones only move into the south end for a little while, and with all the pressure in there, I think they back out pretty quick. Good luck