Scale and filet your fish and leave the skin on. Once fileted, use some tweezers or needle nose pliars to pull out the pin bones that run along the lateral line
Dry brine with brown sugar and kosher salt for the win! DS has you covered there! Yes you can add any other seasonings if you wish, but keeping it simple is my favorite.
Once the dry ingredients are on the fish, it draws out moisture of the fish and will make its own "wet" brine that is a syrup like consistency, No need to add any water or other liquid. (However, sometimes I will add a little bit of soy sauce for somewhat of a teriyaki flavor, but I substitute that for an equal portion of the salt.)
Let marinate overnight. I don't rinse my fish after brining, but I don't want any standing liquid or heavy brine left on either. Place them skin side down on racks. Don't use foil or grill mats. There is no need to flip or turn your filets once they are on the smoking racks.
Depending on your type of smoker and thickness of your fillets, will determine your time and temperature. I have used Big and Little Chief Smokers for fish and Jerky for decades with outstanding results. They run in the 165' range and is not insulated. Just let it ride until you get your desired consistency and doneness. I run 200' pit temp in my
Masterbuilt now. I like my smoked fish a bit more on the moist side, but you can dry it out all the way if you want to if you leave it in there longer. but you do want to meet a minimum IT of 145' do definitely use a probe. Lake Trout are a very oily fish. So they can be very forgiving in it not drying out, but you may not want it too "greasy" either. Just remind yourself and everybody else that eats it that it is the "Good Kind" of fats with Omega 3's. :-)
