I was watching Bill Dance the other day and he was fishing the Yum, Houdini shad with a 5/0 gamakatsu skip gap hook and he said it fell horizontally similar to a senko.  It must work because all he caught was 5 to 8 lb. fish ;D!  Has anyone ever tried this or a similar setup?  Is it the skip gap hook that makes it fall horizontally or the bait?  Can anyone recommend a good fluke style bait that would fall horizontally?

It seems to me that the Strike King KVD fluke would sink horizontally before the houdini shad would due to the heavier fat tail that it has -vs- the skinny tail on the Houdini shad.  Any recommendations?

It's not the hook...we rig Houdini Shads on 5/0 or 6/0 EWG offset Superline hooks and get the same horizontal fall.  Not only does the Houdini Shad fall horizontally, but it has a nice enticing wiggle while falling...many Mississippi River Smallmouth have fallen for that wiggle over the years.   

Is there a fluke that doesn't fall horizontal??

I've used the Fluke, Houdini Shad and SK Caffiene Shad a fair amount. The Caffiene Shad has the best horizontal fall, IMO, although the Houdini is not far behind. I've become less and less a Zoom Fluke fan since starting to use the other two.

BTW, is sure seems like all of Bill's shows these days are filmed on private pond/lakes. He's always pulling up nice fish after nice fish, no matter what bait he's using. No other boat traffic, scenery is all similar, never says where he's fishing, etc. I appreciate that he takes time to explain what he's doing and all, but I'd watch him more if he were on public waters/different lakes every show.

A thick bodied soft jerkbait with a lightly weighted hook.

Isn't it vertical fall? Anyway the only one I know of that doesn't fall like a senko is a SK Z-too. Maybe if it was used on a weighted hook but alone it seems to buoyant. When I use them they don't seem to fall at all which is nice cause I can skip them across the water surface like feeding/fleeing bait. 

Isn't it vertical fall? Anyway the only one I know of that doesn't fall like a senko is a SK Z-too. Maybe if it was used on a weighted hook but alone it seems to buoyant. When I use them they don't seem to fall at all which is nice cause I can skip them across the water surface like feeding/fleeing bait.

Yeah, it's a vertical fall.  He is talking about how the bait is positioned horizontally, not falling head first.

Just hang a small bell sinker from the hook and you will always get a horizontal fall.

My zoom Flukes fall horizontally, maybe it is the set up your using. Bill's show is filmed on his private pond, he has a nice spread.

It 's the hook size and weight what makes the bait fall horizontally, you don 't have to add weight by means of a sinker, just by changing hook size/ wire diameter and location of the hook on the bait you can make the bait sink differently.

i prefer kvd caffiene shad with 6/0 owner twistlock light

it will fall horizontally

Check out the Mann's Shadow.  This bait is hooked texposed through the side (rather than through the bottom).  It inherently has a more horizontal fall because of the water drag as it falls sideways.

My brother-in-law caught the biggest bass I've ever seen come out of Loxahatchee Reserve on a Mann's shadow.

Yeah, it's a vertical fall. He is talking about how the bait is positioned horizontally, not falling head first.

Got it. I figured I was just misinterpreting what he was saying.

Check out the Mann's Shadow. This bait is hooked texposed through the side (rather than through the bottom). It inherently has a more horizontal fall because of the water drag as it falls sideways.

My brother-in-law caught the biggest bass I've ever seen come out of Loxahatchee Reserve on a Mann's shadow.

Much more like a dying shad, I will ahve to check these out. I fish a Power Plant Lake that has a lot of shad as primary forage. Would be good when the bass are  busting shad.

With most any soft jerkbait, you can get the falling posture and sink rate

you're looking for by experimenting with different "hook weights" & "hook placements".

Four soft jerkbaits were mentioned above: Yum houdini, Zoom fluke,

Strike King caffeine shad & Manns shadow.

Three other soft jerks come to mind that I like at least as much as those mentioned:

Bass Assassin Shad, Lunker City Slug-go & Lunker City Fin-S Fish

Roger

Is there a fluke that doesn't fall horizontal??

Yes, a zoom super fluke on a 3/0 gammy will nose dive!

Isn't it vertical fall? Anyway the only one I know of that doesn't fall like a senko is a SK Z-too. Maybe if it was used on a weighted hook but alone it seems to buoyant. When I use them they don't seem to fall at all which is nice cause I can skip them across the water surface like feeding/fleeing bait.

Yeah, it's a vertical fall. He is talking about how the bait is positioned horizontally, not falling head first.

Yep, that is what I mean.

My zoom Flukes fall horizontally, maybe it is the set up your using. Bill's show is filmed on his private pond, he has a nice spread.

I fish zoom super flukes on 3/0 gamakatsu superline hook and fish it on 30lb powerpro and it nose dives.

Thanks for all the advice guys.  I will have to try different size hooks and see if that makes a difference.  I am leaning towards the SK Caffine shad has it seems to have more weight at the tail section to help it fall horizontally (like a senko).

Any other advice/opinions will be much appreciated.

Hmm, vertical or horizontal.  Why not both? I'm stumped by this thread.

I like to make my my Superfluke to fall vertically nose down so it gets down a couple of feet quickly. It then  levels off after a tiny rod twitch, and that's when it gets blasted often.  Too many anglers try to do too much with this bait.  The more it falls, the better it is with just a bit of rod snap.I fish it with just the weight of the 4/0 hook and flouro. Guess I'm out in left field on this entire thread. 

LOL, I mostly like my flukes to float, or stay at the surface. I work them really fast.

I hope this is considered Fluke-ish????    The center one will Fall Horizontally,know matter what you do to it,It Writes itself no matter how hard you twitch it or slow roll it,and I mean slow and it runs True. I showed you what it is,But I can't tell you what I did.Hope you understand.

Stuck a treble hook it its arse?

LOL, I mostly like my flukes to float, or stay at the surface. I work them really fast.

I'm with J.F. on this. High and fast unless I get a hit and miss, then let it sink.

Good one Speed. Beat me to it.

I typically throw mine to the shore around grass/weeds and work it quickly away from the shore for about 5 feet, then I like to kill it and let it sink.  I want to find a combination that doesn't nose dive and start sinking like a rock but flutter down like a senko.  And before a smart butt comments, Yes I know I could just use a senko if I wanted that action.