I have some questions/comments about learning river fishing.

[TubeDude]

Thanks, sir.

The thing I hate most about river fishing is getting hung up: snags. Does using flies on spinning equipment eliminate snags for the most part, at least? I've looked at a number of videos with fly rods and snagging never seems to be an issue with pure fly fishing tackle. The other thing I hate is twisted, messy line as I commonly experienced salmon-egg-floating on a mountain stream for pan-size trout. This involves repeated short underhand upstream casts as to a little pool or a rock in the bed of the stream and getting loose loops of line, wind knots, on the reel spool was common. I used a light open spinning reel and rod. It could also mean that my reel was not spooled with line correctly so the line lays flat when wound onto the spool.

The idea of having heavy terminal tackle, as weights, touch the bottom of a river bed or bounce over rocks to me means asking to get snagged. What I envision is a effective way to river fish with the minimal risk of getting hung up.  I would think tackle that tends to float at the surface, at least for the most part, is the most snag-free. I saw a video or two where a clear in-line bobber was used. It was filled partially with water to act as a casting weight. The colorless bobber supposedly doesn't spook fish. Heavy spoons and spinners are notorious rock and fallen tree grabbers.

I have never caught a river salmon, a river steelhead or a river rainbow trout. What I am exploring are possible effective ways (tackle/technique) to do this with minimal snagging issues and messy line issues. I hate power bait, worms, herrings and other natural baits coz they're smelly and messy. Sometimes baits are a bear to try to keep on the hooks. Heavy lures sink easily and catch on things. Flies, to me, seem promising to eliminate much of the messiness in river fishing.

As you already know, it is difficult to make rash generalizations that will hold true on all types of rivers, throughout a season and for all species of trout and salmon.  No brainer.  But if your concerns are avoiding snags then you need to concentrate on rivers that are relatively clean bottom...or at least the stretches that present the fewest snags.  Some runs and holes are almost impossible to fish without snagging.

The anglers who fish the tributaries of the great lakes have developed tackle and techniques to help them get maximum fishing and minimum snags.  Most of their systems involve a system of floats, weights, lures and baits that allow them to present their offerings deep enough to catch fish but still ride above the worst of the hazards.  I might suggest looking up some websites or videos from that area.  Some of these same systems...or similar...have been used successfully on western rivers but many of them are on steep drainages that get blown out quickly during prolonged winter storms.  To be able to fish flies or any artificials successfully it requires a decent flow and good visibility.  

If your concerns are tackle problems...with problematic reels or line...you need to focus on assembling a better combination of rod, reel and line.  Everything needs to work smoothly without having to battle line coils, stuttering drag system, broken bail springs, etc.   You may wish to consider using one of the new superbraids or cofilaments on the market.  They do not have memory or boil off the spool like some monos do.  Also more sensitive to detecting subtle strikes.

I can vouch for the use of clear plastic bubbles to fish flies in a flow.  I have had great success with bubble and fly rigs on quite a few large rivers...both for fishing on or near surface and for subsurface too.  The key...as in fishing flies with a flyrod...is to make accurate casts and then get the flies to drift right without drag.  It takes some practice to reel just fast enough on the downstream float to stay up with the bubble and fly without allowing slack in the line or creating unnatural drag to spook the fish.  And unless you stay "tight", you will miss strikes.

About the only time you will have any kind of shot at steelhead or salmon...without having to risk snagging on the bottom...would be fishing summer run steelhead.  They sometimes even take surface offerings, but are at least active enough to be taken above the bottom.  Salmon, not so much.

You need to pick a couple of likely waters and get to know them well.  Spend time at local tackle shops and pick up whatever pointers you can.  Even better is to befriend someone who has already worked to acquire a good knowledge base of the waters you are targeting...and who might be willing to rideshare and mentor you.  Once you get more  in tune with your preferences and your skills you can arbitrarily eliminate those waters that are not friendly to the way you want/need to fish.  Then concentrate on refining your skills on a very few chosen waters.