polaris pike float method

can anyone help me.i fished today with a large polaris pike float,a 1/4oz bomb and 10 inch herring on a 25 inch trace.i wound down tight as directed on the instructions but opted for a 'half cocked' aproach as to allow the pike a bit less resistance.had the drag on very loose.
fished about 3 hours and kept getting twiches every 30 minutes on the float.occassionally the float would cock fully and creap down slightly,but then go towards the horizontal postion again.2 occassions it remained nearly verticle.i presumed that some very hungry perch or eels were hanging on as such,as i expected the float to 'drift off'when recieving a proper pike take.after one re-chuck it cocked fully almost straight away moved accross the water so i struck,but no joy(large pattern of teeth punch wounds on bait too).right at the end of my session my friend went to bring in my rod,and thought it had snagged on the bottom,it pulled free and as it approached the surface,a pike grabbed at it but not fully enough to get hooked.a 10 inch bait had been reduced to 5!

so my question is could the fish have sat on the bottom and not moved off with the bait?and are these sorts of bites described above worth hitting even though no line is taken(i was fishing at very close range with a very loose drag).i presume that a 12-14 oz dead bait is fine fishing for 10-30lb pike?would the resistance of the float have been too much for the pike and is the size of the bomb used a good way to compensate this factor?

would appreciate very much if anyone has any tips,iv tried looking for diagrams online but cant find any,maybe the easiest way if anyone knows any links!tight lines and best regards.rory

Firstly I'd use a smaller bait, such as a sardine, which is usually about 6 - 7" long. With larger baits, (you mentioned 12 -14 ozs) it's much more difficult to judge the timing of the strike so that you hook the fish cleanly in the jaw. You are more likely to deep hook with these large baits, in my view.

It's rare that I get small movements of the float when I pike fish - the usual indication is that the float jabs down a couple of time and then slides under and away. When fishing with a float legering set up, bites are sometimes signalled by the float rising an inch or so and then it is pulled under and disappears.

I think the problem is that your Polaris rig isn't stable, so the float occasionally shifts, and it's hard to judge if its a bite or not.

If you are fishing close in, I suggest you change to a medium sized sliding pike float (the type with a fine bore tube along its axis), a stop knot and a weight of about 10gms. Set the rig so the fish is lying on the bottom and the lead is suspended. This is a sensitive and versatile rig.

Once the float starts moving indicating a bite, I count ten and then strike.

The problem you have is because 1/4 ounce of weight is not heavy enough, try again with 2ounce in calm weather and 3 ounce in windy. After the cast give the float lots of free line to help it rise vertically, this gives the shortest length between the bait and float.
To maintain the correct tension between the rod tip and weight, its advisable to point the rod roughly at the bait, set on the rod rests with the rod tip in the water a couple of inches and smartly tighten up locking the float into position.
Also I would recomend using a paternoster rig with a trace no longer than 18", as a pike can swallow a bait without moving far at all.
Look at the PAC web site, it shows the basic rig with a sliding float, a Polaris float is set up the same from the float down, the address is:
http://www.pacgb.co.uk/pdfs/factsheet1.pdf

<i>Firstly I'd use a smaller bait, such as a sardine, which is usually about 6 - 7" long. With larger baits, (you mentioned 12 -14 ozs) it's much more difficult to judge the timing of the strike so that you hook the fish cleanly in the jaw. You are more likely to deep hook with these large baits, in my view.</i>

No you're not, just nail it when it moves off. You're far less likely to deep hook a fish with a larger bait, especially if hooks are placed sensibly. I use big baits all the time for precisely this reason.

People using small baits and poor bite indication is what deep hooks pike.

Use more weight or fish an unloaded pencil float, which are generally better than the Polaris type because once they slip too far over-depth you can't get the tension to cock them and they're useless in any wind.

I went out today ,first session of the season (for me ) I had trouble getting the float to cock ,fishing a shallow lake with a lot of bottom weed ,changed the float about 3 times ,smaller ,smaller (about 8oz plus herring tail )then i weighted it with about 1 oz drilled bullet on line resting on the trace ,cocked just right .
A 8oz or 12 oz dead bait doesn`t weigh a lot when in water ,it needs some help when under a float .
To me , useing a deadbait under a float on the bottom seems a waste of time ,i like to float a deadbait just above the bottom so that it is on the move slowly ,if i want a dead bait on the bottom then i will leger ,which is how i fish ,2 rods legered and 1 rod on the float just off bottom or mid water .

Pencil float's a great method for pits and stillwaters off the bank.

the main reason i wanted to use polaris is to overcome plumbing the depth.i know roughly its 5-6 foot,and im fishing basically within a rod length so i should be able to get it right at this distance(i dont trust myself with depth fining at longer ranges).ideally fish presented just off the bottom is what id like,so maybe use a small inline float and maintain the large baits to self cock?simpler the better for me,i have never used even a stop knot i would just place a small shot above the float at the correct depth.is a bait suspended just off bottom nose down going to seem natural enough for a pike to take?thanks for the tips guys,i am new to piking usually stalking carp is my thing...hope the 'c' word isnt band from this forum! ta

Rory ,your all right with the "c" word mate ,my fishing is down to carp & pike ,nothing wrong in that .
The best thing to do is to set up your float rig off the bottom first ,"marry" up the right float to the size of bait ,if the float won`t cock add weight or change the float ,but you will need to use a stopknot to adjust the depth of the float ,the use of a shot on the line has a stop is not a good idea ,it will weaken your main line and could break anytime and you don`t want it to break on the strike ,1 pike swimming around with a full trace = 1 dead pike .
Have a look on the P.A.C. website pacgb.com for for information on rigs .