I don't know of the biology and behavior of the dace. I was just playing off the traditional Black Nose Dace bucktail streamer.
I was thinking of something that I could fish in high water at the tailwater, Powersite for whites or deep holes in the spring. I've got lead wire in addition to the cone, so it should sink fairly horizontally.
It may not catch fish, but it's a great outlet for my creative energy. You're right in that I could have definitely lived with leaving the hook shank with bare lead.