Here's What I'm Doing Today

[Coon]

A friend of mine was over yesterday and brought me a bunch of whitefish.  Fred must have left 25 or 30 for me.  The fish are in the round yet and need to be cleaned.  I am going to smoke some and the rest will get cleaned and frozen.







Fred Had 12 fillets already brined and ready for smoking.  The little smoker he has does not get hot enough to completely cook the fish so he wanted to try mine out as he has tasted some fish I had previously smoked.  This is the end result readt to be eaten.

[sawguy21]

I'll be there later. Smoked whitefish is great. Camera is working well too.

[Coon]

Great.  Was wondering who was going to offer to come clean fish.  There'll be plenty of eatin' too.

[SwampDonkey]

Well, you'll be eaten good this season.    Kind of reminds me of smelts (no not salmon smolts  ), the flesh is white and they are shiny/scaley fish. They catch them in the rivers here in spring time with a dip net.

[leweee]

You sure Know how to make my mouth water. Wish I had your job today.

[isawlogs]

 Whitefish ... Man I cant wait till the water freezes up enough to get on the lakes and catch a few of them ... Them sure are good eatin ..

[Coon]

Well I think it's time for an update.

When I went to the garage this morning to start cleaning fish I found that overnight they had froze solid as the temps dropped.  That meant I had to bring some fish in the house and thaw them out a little before cleaning them.

Completely cleaned 5 of these whitefish and have room for only 4 at a time in the smoker.  I only do 4 at a time because the smoker doesn't have to work so hard to keep the temps warm enough.

Here is a pic of the smoker ready to put the racks of fish in.




The fish are put in a dry brine of coarse salt and brown sugar.  They are put in for 1 hour plus an additional hour for each pound of an average fillet.  These are in the brine for a total of 2 1/2 hours at which they come out.  They are then rinsed off and put on the oiled racks to dry.  I use a small household fan to speed the process.  The fish is ready for the preheated smoker when the fish has a dry glaze (pellicle) on the outside of the fillets.



In the smoker I am using diamond willow split into pieces.  The redder the color of the willow the better the smoke.  Keep in mind the wood must be dry.  I use an old cast iron frying pan as a chip pan.






I have to go rinse the brined fish off now and put to dry.

[Radar67]

Brad, is that an old refridgerator you are using as a smoker? It looks interesting, send us some details.

Stew

[SwampDonkey]

Looks like it's still snowing out there anyway.  Looks like the snow might be getting in the garage. 

[Coon]

That is definately a fridge made into a smoker.  It is not much to look at but it works.  At the time I made it I needed a smoker in a hurry.  I took out the freezer and all of the cooling lines. Next I took out any plastic pieces that there was.  I didn't have any type of hanger system to use to suspend the racks so I simply pounded some 3 1/2 inch spiral nails through from the inside.  I used an old cookie sheet for a drip tray and an old two burner hotplate for my heat source.  Each burner has it's own dial.   The only time I have needed to use the second burner is when I am smoking in -30C or colder or very windy days.  It's a crude set up but it works.
I use an oven thermometer that hangs from the top rack to regulate my temperature.

Swamp,  The snow always has gotten in inbetween the big door and the wall.  I have a piece of plastic on a piece of pipe that rolls up when the door is needed.  It has been mild out and I haven't been using heat in there for a few days.  Been actually working with that door open during the day.  Just wish that door was on the south side and not the north. 

The whitefish is very tasty.  You guys better hurry if you want some.  Won't last long with my meat hooks in them.

[Radar67]

Do you put the frying pan on the hotplate to get the chips going?

Stew

[Coon]

Stew, yes that is what I do.  you controll the burn of the chips with the heat setting of the burner.  I have not got a proper draft and air intake so a person has to sometimes leave the door open a smidgeon to let the humidity out and create its own draft.

[Coon]

Thought it was time for another update.  Here's what the smoker looks like inside.




This one shows how I used those 3 1/2 inch spiral nails for the racks to sit on.




Next here is another one of the finished product with the skine side up.



Still waiting on some taste testers.

[sprucebunny]

Looks yummy, Coon 

I've never had 'whitefish' but I love smoked everything else

[Coon]

I would send ya some Joan but I don't think it would get through customs.   Heck they'd probably think it's rotten or something and just throw it out. .  The smell of smoke even seems to linger through vaccuum sealed bags after a while.  Must seep through the plastic.

[farmerdoug]

SD,

Smelt?  Where the smelt.

We use to dip them when I was young here in the St. Clair River.  Now we just sit around drinking beer and talk about the good old days of smelt.  Before my time they use to dip them by the truckloads.  But since they planted the salmon in the Great Lakes the smelt have dissappeared.  Maybe we need to plan a smelt dipping party in the late winter in your neck of the woods.

Farmerdoug

[Mooseherder]

Smelting...we used to dip for em in the wee hours along a couple tributaries that fed into Long Lake, Northern Maine. What a great memory of simpler times. I think there is a 2 quart limit now. And don't get caught by a Game Warden with anything over that amount. Penalties are pretty severe.

[farmerdoug]

No limit here yet that I know of but 2 quarts would probably take a night or even two to fill anyways.  Although I do ocassionly here of a run where the dippers get a bucket or two, not often though.


Farmerdoug

[SwampDonkey]

You can fish smelt by dip net or angling on the Miramichi, Bouctouche, Salmon River, Black River, Nashwaak, Keswick, Kennebecasis, Hammond, Aroostook, Little Tobique, Mamozekel, Tobique, Saint John, Salmon River (victoria county), Serpentine, Restigouche and tributaries,  from April 15 - May 31. 60 fish daily bag limit and possession. The rivers I listed require guides for non residents. All boundary waters (with Maine) have a bag and possession limit of 200 (April 15 - Sept 30). They don't mention a season on the Nepisiquit (Bathurst area). I would say that the Miramichi river would be best for catching smelts, that's where grandfather always fished for them.

Silff Lake and tributaries are closed to smelt fishing.

You can fish sturgeon in tidal waters of any river flowing into the Bay of Fundy, no bag limit, 120 cm minimum length. Tidal water on the St John come up to Lincoln, just below Fredericton. Jan. 1-May 31 and July 1-Dec. 31
 
You can catch white fish in boundary waters with Maine April 15-Sept. 30. Daily bag limit and possession 8.

Go here  and click on Fish Booklet to get a fishing summary.

You can get detailed maps of New Brunswick here also, rivers and streams are marked as well. The map index can be downloaded here.

Lake Utopia dwarf smelt

Some history on the American smelt fishery

Here's the New Brunswick Sport Fishing Forum

[blaze83]

man, my mouth was watering just looking at that fish...It would be gone in a heartbeat if I lived closer than a few hundred miles ,

I'll need to get me an old fridge and make one of those smokers.. do you smoke up veison jerky in it too?

steve