Just cant figure these specs out!!!

Hi everyone been a while since ive posted here. Every few years I get the itch to do some freshwater fishing but I just cant figure the specs out down here. I grew up in Minnesota and we didn't go out in the boat without bringing home over 100 specs every trip. But down here I think ive caught like 10 in 30 years.
Ive fished parker, manatee, evers resivoir, kissimmee in north cove had boats all around me catching them but not us.
Lake manatee is probally the best, closest place to my house to catch them so I am going to keep going there til I figure them out.
If anyone could please help with any tips for this lake or even had a spot that they wouldn't mind giving up where they once caught a spec there me and my gf would greatly appreciate it. She hates my spec trips because we don't catch anything till I decide to salvage the trip and fish for other stuff. We are gonna try to go this weekend if anyone else is headed out there maybe you can see what we are doing wrong.
Thanks
Steve

Before knowing what you are doing wrong, knowing what you are doing would help.

Tom

Tom I have been mostly just drift fishing using jigs and gold hooks usually minnow tipped at all different depths with bobbers without bobbers. Ive tried jigging the weeds with these set ups when there was boats all around catching them but we only caught a couple dinks. I know this lake pretty well. It has a river that runs the lake with lots of bends. But I hardly ever mark any fish on the finder. Sometimes I find bait clouds and I try to fish them but no luck.
Even a blind squirrel should be able to find a nut once in a while!!

Ok.... We got to get you catching fish so your GF won't think you're a helpless goober....I don't know your lake, but speck fishing 101 will work anywhere if the lake holds fish. You can't go wrong with a gold hook and a minner drifting. Try splitting the water column....6' deep = fish 3' deep. If I'm fishing with minners on a just a hook I like to hook them through the meaty part of the back and try to use med to large minners. Just let that booger do the work for you. Now jigging and fishing pads is a little different. I like at least a 10 to 14' pole.... Any jig should work....I use a shinee hinee sometimes tipped with a minner. What I like to do is move the bait in one direction and very gently raise the pole up and down about two or three inches as I move it.... Then I go back in the opposite direction doing the same thing. Dipping the pads will take some practice. Don't give up!
Micah

Thanks for the reply speckanator... Usually when I drift I run at least 4 poles 2 with hooks 2 with jigs. I usually set at different depths all the way to the bottom almost. I have never hooked the minnow through the back always through the lips. But I will be trying that. All my poles have 8 to 12 pound test. Except my 15 foot cane poles have got 15 for fishing the weeds.
I have found one of the best ways to find fish is see someone else doing it and either do what they are doing or come back and fish where they were fishing at a later time. When I first found the crappie.com sight they were having a tournament on lake manatee so we went and fished the tourney and meet Harold there. I knew we wernt going to be any competition but I figured maybe I would learn something. But when we got there everyone was gone from the ramp except Harold so I didn't have a clue where everyone was fishing nor did I see any of the other boats all day. They all caught fish, we caught 1.
At this point I am ready to hire someone and guide me on this lake. Maybe once I figure them out I can apply what I know to other lakes.
I love fishing tourneys and would join you all, but at this point I would just be giving my money away to you guys.

East of the bridge you need to learn and follow the channel. It is very tricky and winding lots of hang ups. About 3/4 miles up from the bridge the channel runs maybe 200 yards fairly straight at or from a real nice house. Lot of fish caught in that channel. Use lighter line, 6lb or smaller. With the gold hook are you using any weight? Need to use weight to keep bait at depth while moving. Faster moving more weight to keep it down. Use light wire hooks so you can pull off hangups. Pliers to reshape hook.

There are much better fisherman on here than me and so far all good advice. But my number one #1 when speck fishing (some people might hate this) but look for other boats fishing the same species and try and find a spot near them with similar structure. There are plenty of these little boogers to go around and most guys won't mind you fishing around them as long as you aren't starting your motor and running on plane near them.

specktracker I am very good at monkey see monkey do. But the lake does not get a lot of traffic and most bass fish. Usually when I go to any lake I don't see many spec fisherman. Except like Kissimmee when there spawning but we haven't had much luck there or you see the big house boats drifting the middle of the lake.
Here is a question?
Does anyone that fishes lake manatee have electronics that shows the river bed? I have a lot of gps marks along it so I can kinda see where it runs but it has so many bends its hard to stay right on it. Its not very wide.

I do not see Manatee on here but this is a site I used to check out
Lakewatch

My best advice would be to use your long pole and start to pattern them. Right now I am catching them in 8-10 ft of water usually about five foot down off of structure. From what I can tell they are in a transition right now with the weather. I am catching quite a few males shallow with their tales broken up which tells me they are building beds for the spawn. The females I am catching are deeper and the eggs are not very veiny so I think we are two weeks out from great fishing pending the weather pattern. We are still pretty early for the spawn but keep at it and you will find them, just remember when you catch them what depth, water temp, color jig, and structure type and you will be successful. Good luck and be safe!

Yelim thank you very much for the info!!! I haven't fished east of the bridge much, but I think I know exactly where you are talking about. I fished that area once when I seen a football field size school of fish bust the water. Thought it was specks, but after tying on a rapala I caught a small bass and then the school disappeared.
Yes I just about always use a split shot even with a jig especially with a slip bobber the jigs aren't heavy enough to pull the line through all the time.
Yelim since this is a good area, would it be a good area to check the weedbeds for spawners?
Going out sunday if anyone would like to show me first hand how its done.

With the cover they have in there you would be very lucky to find bedding fish. The creek that runs north on the west side of the bridge holds fish along the edges at times, always worth a try. You've got the right idea so don't give up. There is no teacher as good as time on the water. smaller line or fluorocarbon line or leader is the trick. Somewhere along the south side about across from that creek mouth the bottom has a washboard effect that holds fish at times. Used to be a guy that guided trips in a poontoon boat that fished that south shore a lot. if you see him remember where he goes for when he is not there.