Jake….I mix equal parts of Morton Tenderqwik and brown sugar together in a large bowl and blend it thoroughly with a large fork or wire egg whip. I rinse the fish off and rub lots of the sugar mix on the flesh side of the fillets, laying them on top of each other in either a plastic or glass cake dish….11X13 inch or larger. DO NOT USE METAL. The pan gets covered and put in the fridge over night. The next morning I wash the fillets off so none of the sugar or salt is stuck to the fillets, then I lay the fillets on a clean bath towel, skin side down, and fold the towel over the flesh side and press down to dry the fillets as much as possible without schmucking the meat. I fill the smoker with the fish and get the smoke going and just watch the meat for color. When its a nice mahongany color I kill the heat and smoke and let the fish stay right in the smoker until they’re at air temp. I then bring them in and put them in the fridge until cold and then vacuum pack the fillets individually. I fold a piece of paper towel over the end of each fillet in the sealing bag at the open end to help stop any juice from screwing up the seal. Doesn’t hurt a thing.
Rubberduck….I use charcoal in a conventional smoker. For wood I prefer chunk apple and/or pear. I wrap three or four nice chunks in heavy aluminum foil and lay two of these “bombs” right on the charcoal. When the first round of charcoal is about burned out I add new charcoal and a couple more bombs. Even in very cold weather I don’t need to do more than a couple rounds of charcoal and bombs on fish fillets this size. The wood is dry, never, ever soaked. I find apple and pear trees that people want taken down and do it for the wood. I have a friend who’ll take the smaller stuff, but I want thick limbs and trunk wood that I saw into 4″ lengths to dry then split those with a small axe into usable sized pieces.
The expired bombs contain the best home-created charcoal you’ll ever find for grilling food. Steak grill over apple or pear charcoal; is almost sinful good. The trick is to be sure the foil seals the bombs real tight. When super-heated on the charcoal the smoke makes its way out but does not allow the wood inside to flame. I have a fifty gallon yard bag full of this charcoal that I use along with the old standard Kingsford and its amazing what the blend does for the lowly hotdog or bratwurst.
man that looks good. hey would you compromise…..i’ll be in hagar city Thursday………I could meet ya in red wing!!!!! 
