I've been fishing specks in stock lakes over here for a while now and I can tell you from first hand experience that it's a hit & miss when it comes to catching them
Hardwater or softwater doesn't matter, it's a cycle... there either on or off... it basically comes down to being there at the right time... weather, moon phase plays a factor in their feeding behavior.
I find by switching presentations when their finicky will somehow trigger them in committing... if that doesn't work... time to move on