I've always known them to be called yellow tails yes they are in the jack family, I don't think it's a baby jack cravelle.

I know you said you don't like the mess of live bait, but you can catch a lot of fish with local baits. Look for fresh dead bait or fresh frozen it makes a world of difference.

The only way I know to catch them is with a cast net.

They look like a type of menhaden to me, great fish bait for just about any game fish in salt water.

These guys all have great advice one thing I didn't see mentioned is the need to use locally caught bait(shrimp etc.). Some tackle shops get bait shipped in or sell old frozen bait, these will get you only scares bites and the before mentioned regular looking cat fish. So try and find some place that has live or fresh local frozen bait..