Damn, those are some tasty looking Salmon chunks.
Did you rinse of the brine before you let the pellicle set?
The reason I ask is I've made many thousands of pounds of smoked Salmon and I've never gone straight from the brine to the cooling racks.
I love maple smoked Salmon I actually add 1/2 cup of maple syrup to the dry brined fish after the brine liquifies. For the maple mop I add just a pinch of Ancho chili powder to the warmed up cup of maple syrup.
And I start basting the Salmon after it's been in the smoker for 2 hrs basting every 20 minutes until it's done, by basting at least 3 time with the maple Ancho mop it forms a slight skin over the fish that is to die for.
There is no wrong way to smoke Salmon or any other fish for that matter, but there is a right way of smoking fish and that is the way you like it.
Points for a great looking end product I bet it taste awesome.