Smoking Fish 101

Pike smoked with acacia wood and beech wood at 60 °C SMOKED FISH PHOTO CONTEST ON NOW. 1st place prize is a day on the water with BASSMASTER CLASSIC CHAMPION - Jeff Gustafson, a new smoker, and a professional fish filleting kit! The contest is open to freshwater species only for this round. Thanks to all of the event sponsors. To find out more about the prizes - go to our website to view the contest details. Photo by group member Károly Sólyom. Please share with any friends and family who may be interested. Thanks, and good luck to all.

🎣 Not all freshwater fish were built for the smoker - but the ones that were? Absolutely elite.

We broke down the best freshwater species for smoking: flavor profiles, fat content, ideal wood pairings, and the technique details that separate a good smoke from a championship one.

Whether you’re working walleye, trout, catfish, or carp — this guide covers it all.

👇 Full guide here:
www.smokingfish101.com/blog/best-freshwater-fish-for-smoking-championship

Photo of Georgian Bay Chinook Salmon by Smoking Fish 101 group member Dylan McKinnon

Group member Eric Forrest with some delicious looking Smoked Northern Pike. For anyone that doesn't know - we currently have a photo contest going on right now featuring different fresh water species that have been smoked to perfection. If you have any pictures of Freshwater specific smoked fish and you would like to participate, the top 3 prizes are awesome! First place is valued over $2000 usd. The contest is accepting entries until June 17th. Have a look at the photos entered so far here: www.smokingfish101.com/contest

Hi everyone, it’s time for a photo contest! This round will be for freshwater species only, and runs through until June 19th. Prizes are huge. First place prize even includes a guided day fishing with a Bassmaster Classic Elite Series Classic Champion. Details on how to enter will be in the comments below. Think whitefish, lake trout, northern pike, freshwater salmon, someone has to have a good smoked walleye and crappie recipe out there. This pic is of Georgian Bay King Salmon - so delicious! Good luck in the contest!

“4 cups brown sugar, 1 cup kosher salt… how long do I let it sit? How long in the Big Chief?”

If it’s been years since you last smoked fish, these are exactly the questions that can make you second guess yourself. 🔥🐟

One of the biggest mistakes people make is using a cure recipe without adjusting for:
• Fish thickness
• Fillet size
• Salt type
• Desired texture
• Smoking method

That’s exactly why we built the Smoking Fish 101 Cure Calculator.

Instead of guessing, the calculator helps members dial in:
✅ Cure ratios
✅ Cure times
✅ Drying/pellicle guidance
✅ Smoking timelines
✅ Fish thickness adjustments

Whether you’re firing up a Big Chief for the first time in 15 years or smoking every weekend, it takes a lot of the uncertainty out of the process.

Check out the Cure Calculator here:

https://www.smokingfish101.com/cure-calculator

Who here still uses a Big Chief? 👇

Photo and question submitted by Smoking Fish 101 group member Lloyd Mcdaniels.

We just finished building a Smoking Fish temperature standard for the site.

This is based on how people actually smoke fish-not just BBQ temps.

It covers:
• Real smoking temps
• Internal temp targets
• Cold vs hot smoking
• Wood choices

You can view it here: https://www.smokingfish101.com/temperature-chart

Curious if this lines up with how you've been doing it.

Smoking Fish 101 — Craft · Technique · Tradition Master the craft of smoking fish. Guides, recipes, techniques, and gear reviews from a community of 195,000+ fish smokers.

Just added wild sockeye salmon to the marketplace-and this timing worked out pretty well.

The vendor is running a 25% off sale this weekend + free shipping, so it’s actually a solid time to stock up.

If you’ve never worked with sockeye before, it’s one of the best fish you can smoke-firmer texture, deeper flavor than Atlantic.

We’re still dialing in parts of the site, but the product itself checks out.

Link below 👇

Smoking Fish 101 — Craft · Technique · Tradition Master the craft of smoking fish. Guides, recipes, techniques, and gear reviews from a community of 195,000+ fish smokers.

This might be the best glaze I’ll ever put on smoked salmon.

And I didn’t buy it…

I made the maple syrup myself from scratch.

I made my own maple syrup from scratch… just to glaze some smoked salmon.

Worth it?

Full video on YouTube 👇

Most people are smoking fish at the wrong temperature.

This is hot-smoked fish.

Good color, clean finish, and that texture comes from controlling the process - not guessing.

Running 90-130°F might feel “traditional”…
but it’s also where things can go sideways fast if you’re not dialed in.

I bring mine up to 145°F to finish. Every time.

You get great texture - and you know it’s safe.