I still have dozens of these plastic baits left over from my bass fishing days. It was probably my favorite spring/summer lure..... I haven't tried it for specs......
Soft Jerk Baits work well on specs. You can also rig them with a small circle hook directly through the nose instead of nearly weedless like you would for bass.
I've used many plastic lures, including some Sluggos,, in both salt and freshwater. They represent something to eat and species in both environments have to eat.
In short; use them with confidence, but hook them through the nose like the previous poster says. C2