i think you guys are talking about the same fish but in diffrent ways , little sad school so when somthing hunts them like striper or bass they tend to go air born and splash the surface(suside by air or to be eatin>>?), if this is what you have seen then it is most likely a feeding frenzy going on... i seen it up here last year, i was thorwing big rainbow trout lures and topwater lures for striper, nothin! then i seen the striper push in a school of shad, i grab'ed my tackle bag and matched the hatch sort of speak pulling out a 5" lure in a blue/silver, it's work'd! the striper push the shad right up in front of me, i just tossed my lure about 4' out in to the ball of shad (suspending lures rock) my lure set there with a few taps,then a striper came charging in, but just stop'd short(i think it new somthing was wrong) at the same time the striper was checking out my lure another striper came over the top of the other and took the lure, i think the one who stole the lure didn't git a good look @ it he just thought the other would eat it first so he hit it hard....all this was 3~4' out of the bank in 3'-4' of crystal clrear water, awsome to see & wish i could do it again...
Match the hatch! find the size & color of what they are feeding on! also on a frenzy like that topwater could work but more like a buzz bait than a pop~R
mike s lets see those pix when you git um!!!
troutchaser i hav heard of monster shad and would love to see one too! don't for git to take a pic either, and check the cali record!