While I'm no expert by any means, I believe you had 2 major things against you. You were roadside, and with high water. When the water is up, you will have much better luck hitting some of the smaller tributaries. I would be happy to give you specific examples of good alternatives to the places you mentioned you were, but don't want to get blasted by the "stream naming" committee
. Drop me an e-mail if you want specifics
Maybe you would have had better luck bringing kayaks this year wirth all the water