The key with the fish is to keep them in absolutely prime condition after capture. Catch fish and place on ice immediately. Clean and freeze, or use fresh. Remove all blood from gut cavity when cleaning the fish. Whole fish are cured with a salt crust, fillets and cutlets are cured in a saturated sugar solution of raw, or brown sugar and a little salt.
Fish is left in the fridge to cure for a measured time.
One hour before cooking place four handfuls of hickory chips in a saucepan of water, or four to six chunks of hickory if chunks are used. Forty minutes before smoking light heat beads or similar, usually 20 per side, with three cubes of fire lighters under each group of heat beads to burn down at an even heat. Then, minutes before cooking, remove fish from fridge. Whole fish are thoroughly washed to remove salt. Fish in sugar pickle are left in solution till ready to go into the smoker.