I don't get many jacks, and I use eggs, plugs and hardware. I get plenty of big fish. I tend to move, looking for visible adult fish, and then I hit those areas hard. That would support the theory of move if you are hitting jacks.

When I fish Searuns, which I do a lot, I have noticed that little fish and big fish will not be near each other most of the time. I think the big fish chase the little ones off. Also, steelhead will push the cutts out. Different species, but maybe the behavior is similar.