when i smoke kokanee/trout, i am usually using a wet brine. the only thing i do is remove the heads. after brine, let rest for a couple hours to drain/dry. this is when i fire up the smoker to get to temp. i place the whole, unskinned fish in the the smoker. i flip the fish a couple times during the smoking/drying process. when they are done, i peel the skin away and pull the meat from the bones and vacuum seal. comes out bonless and delicious. i posted this pic before, but this is some done the way i described above.