Don't shy away from beads just because your new at float fishing. They are not any more difficult to use than anything else. They don't fish any different than a roe bag. 2 inches above the hook is max, anything more and you run the risk of foul hooking the fish. There are laws in certain states like Alaska that prevent you from running it more than 2 inches, and this is done for a reason. I usually run mine about 1 1/2. If you have to "trot" your float all the time to get it to fish properly, then there is probably something wrong with your set-up, whether your lead is too long, or you're not using enough weight, etc. If the float is balanced properly you should rarely have to "trot"
I've been fishing beads for many years, and they have all but replaced my use of roe, but the biggest thing is confidence. Catching a few fish leads to using them more which leads back to catching more fish.