I picked up a sammy this winter and finally got around to trying it for the first time this wekend.  But it seems like there's something wrong.  The first couple of retrieves I couldn't get it to walk very well at all.  When I took a good look, it was sitting in the water completely vertical.  Nose straight up, back end straight down.  Is that normal?  

BTW, it was tied on with a trilene knot and I was using yozuri hybrid ulta soft #6.

Yes.

You don't have to "over work" a Sammy. It is easy to walk, much more user friendly than a Spook, but more subtle. Stay with the Sammy, you will like it and the bass do, too!

Thanks, RW.  That's what I was hoping to hear!  I wasn't looking forward to trashing a $15 bait.  

HA! I thought mine was broken too when I first got mine with its near vertical position. ;D

However, like RW, I found it so much easier to walk the dog with it than the spook. It isn't hard to work the spook at all, but it seemed easier with the sammy to be more consistent in the zig zagging.