Whatever you do avoid self-cocking floats. They won't register a lot of the takes until it's too late to avoid a deep-hooked pike. The best design are slim balsa floats, around 1cm diameter and six to ten inches in length. They're buoyant enough to keel over instantly when you get a take, without making a pike drop the bait because it feels like it's towing the Queen Mary around with it when it does. Several firms market them or you can make your own at a fraction of the cost.
Weights are easy to attach to the trace.
Either thread a fine piece of silicone tube onto the wire when you make your traces, and pinch three or four swan shot onto it. Or attach one of the slit Fox weights, by carefully stretching a rig sleeve into the slit to trap it against the wire. Both methods enable you to move the weight nearer to or further from the bait, which means you can fine tune the height at which it rides above the bottom. On venues with clear beds, I start with the bait a foot or so off, and experiment through the day. In weed or silt, you may need the bait riding higher to attract a take.