[kawishiwi]

I think rock bass tourneys are unlikely to materially reduce their impact on the lake.
It might make the remaining rockies a little bigger on average by slightly reducing the numbers.
As all fish poulations go through cycles there is some chance we'll see a natural crash of rockies that might be exploited by the smallmouth, bluegills, & sunfish to reclaim and compete again in the shallower areas.
It does appear the smallmouth may have transitioned to deeper waters. I often fish the "baitballs" in 30ish ft of water and catch smallmouth there.
In trying for White Perch we started bringing nightcrawlers to sample the schools with fish that apeared to be bigger than fingerling Yellow Perch but smaller than bass. We get a few Whites but often find 8" smallies, sunfish, rockies, or 6" Yellow Perch down there. I would think many of these would be shallower if not for the prevalence of rockies.
My son caught a 1.4lb Bluegill a few years ago...trolling...a rapala TD 9 lure...10ft down in 30ft of water for smallies. Only bluegill we've ever caught and it was in the last place I would have expected.