I've had my AQ for about 7 years now and I love it. I think your original blast of smoke was from the start-up sequence where it runs full blast for about 20 - 30 minutes to get up to temp, and that tends to produce a lot of smoke. Then it calms down into maintenance mode (cycling on/off) and the smoke level drops, which is really what you want. On long smokes, you will barely see any smoke coming out after the startup, and that's ok. jviss is correct, I rarely use more than 3 oz of wood for smoking anything. For fish, 1.5 oz is plenty, maybe 2.5 for racks of ribs, maybe 3 for a butt or brisket. It all depends on what you like. Keep in mind that the meat will not absorb any more smoke after 140 degrees IT or so, so adding more or starting with more will just concentrate the smoke on the surface and lead to bitterness.
Hope you enjoy your Amerique. Best BBQ ever!!