Robby….
Lots of ideas abound on smoking fish. I like to dry cure the fish instead of brining. I mix equal parts of brown sugar and Morton Tender Qwik, using a whisk to mix this thoroughly. I rinsed the fillets off and then pat them dry with a clean towel. The fillets get the rub applied liberally on the flesh side then laid in a plastic or glass [never metal] baking pan. I just stack them up as I apply the rub. I put the pan in the fridge for at least 12 hours, covered with a sheet of freezer paper.
I start the smoker, then go in and rinse the fillets well under running cold water and again pat them dry on a towel. When the smoker is making smoke I lay the fillets skin side down on the grills, cover the unit and keep good smoke on the meat until they are roughly the color as seen in the picture. The grills are pulled leaving the fish on them and brought in the house to the kitchen where I let them cool on the table. Use newspaper on the table to catch any drips. When completely cool I vacuum seal the meat in portions I want and freeze.
I use this process with all fish. I use chunk apple and pear to make the smoke by wrapping pieces of each in heavy duty foil to make bombs, as I call them. The bombs go right in on the hot charcoal briquettes. I do not soak the wood chunks. This combination of wood makes a very heavy smoke with just enough heat to help pull moisture from the meat without actually cooking it much at all.
I get up super early when the weather is hot so the smoker doesn’t heat up so much in the cool morning air. Fish done in this fashion take smoke fairly fast but after you’ve done a couple batches you get the knack and its simple from there. Enjoy.
Careful slicing those now Shawn. You cut a finger and you’ll have to take a medical leave since handling mail will expose you to all sorts of germs. lol