hey dude, overall I wouldn't stress too much about those ponds. Honestly, there are not that many fish in them, so if you catch one or two every couple trips, you're doing just fine. Quite a few people fish them, and they are super tiny, so it's the same fish getting caught over and over again :)

As far as the stuff splashing on top, I've kind of found over the years that very very rarely do you get bass activity on the surface like that. Odds are it's bluegill, crappie, or carp. A bass has a pretty distinct boil, sort of a slashing slopping boil. When bass are chasing shad on top you'll see a wake and you'll see the bass turning to the side as they splash and go back down. Bass almost always will turn as they strike which is a giveaway when you're watching boils. Bluegill and crappie will make a pop and a very round ring on the surface. Carp will thrash around or jump with their head straight up and fall on their sides. The carp especially can get you worked up because they seem like a big agressive fish on the surface. Typically the bigger and louder the splash is, the less likely it is to be a bass. Just my observations anyway :) Don't give up on Santa Margarita. There's plenty of fish there to be caught and the shore access is good with the lake down low. A texas rig 7" power worm will get you some bites there right now. My buddy who used to come with me would almost always get a few bites per trip on that in the spring. He liked the reddish and junebug type colors.