First time poster here!

So, we caught some beeliners in Galveston on Thursday, and I want to try to smoke a couple of them. I have a side firebox smoker, but have never smoked anything. I "think" I have the basic idea, but does anyone have any tips to pass on before I ruin some nice fish? Epic Fail Watch set at Level Orange.

If I were you I would buy a small box smoker just for your fish because fish will leave an aroma you may not want on the next chicken or beef you cook in your big smoker. When smoking fish it's best to use foil sprayed with PAM because it will stick to the grill wire and fall apart when you try to remove it. Other than that is much like smoking any other meat except fish cooks quicker depending on thickness of course.

goo luck

Beeliner isn't very oily, so I don't know that it would be very good smoked. Most good smoked fish that I've tried was oily types - salmon, wahoo, tuna, yellowtail and so on.

Let us know how it turns out.

Vermillions, fillet, salt n pepper or a pinch of Tonys athen lightly dust in flour. Throw them in a skillet. Golden brownsides on med/high heat. They lip snacking good.

For health conscience, same but skip the flour but throw a few.slices.of lemons on top and grill. This works best on half shelled fish. Basically filleted fish with skin/scales on. Just grill with skin/scales down. Don't need to flip either.

Blackened in butter is to die for! This making is making me hungry gonna thaw a few of them bugers out.

Welcome!
jmo, but that's like smoking crappie, probably do-able w/ adequate results, but........

I have never had good results smoking "white-meat" fish
probably doing it wrong, but I like fried or grilled fillets
waaay better when it comes to b-liners

I wouldn't worry about epic fail. just keep it low & slow.
good luck!

I tried smoking some striper after brining it and did not like the results. I think you will end up with similar results smoking vermillion.

I would do this instead. Vermillion is slightly smaller so adjust the cooking time a little based on the filet thickness.

Baked Red Snapper with Garlic

Fish is so good for you, and red snapper is one of my favorites. You can make this recipe lower in fat by cutting down on the butter. This delicious red snapper recipe would be easy to double or triple for a family meal.
INGREDIENTS:
�2 red snapper fillets, about 6 to 8 ounces each
�4 tablespoons butter
�1 medium clove garlic, pressed or minced
�3 or 4 drops Worcestershire sauce
�1/2 teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning, or your own favorite seasoning blend, with salt
�1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
�1 to 2 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
�1 teaspoon snipped fresh or frozen chives, optional
�3 to 4 tablespoons plain or seasoned bread crumbs
�2 tablespoon freshly grated parmesan cheese, optional
PREPARATION:
Place snapper fillets in a baking dish which has been sprayed with a butter-flavored baking spray.
In a skillet, melt butter with garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Creole seasoning blend, pepper, parsley, and chives, if using. Cook on low for 2 minutes, just to blend flavors. Brush both sides of fish fillets with the butter and herb mixture. Toss bread crumbs in the remaining butter mixture; sprinkle over the fillets. Bake at 400� for about 12 minutes, depending on thickness of fillets, until fish flakes easily and is no longer translucent.

Thanks, guys. I'm sure an oily fish would've worked better, but they were still awesome. It was just an experiment, since I've never smoked anything before, and beeliners are easy to come by. VERY moist. The whole skeleton lifted right out of the meat! Truly excellent. Thanks again.

with fish I find cold smoke is my friend 140-160 . takes longer but worth the effort

I usually only smoke the fillets. Just fillet it and leave the skin and scales on, It will slide right off once it's done. Don't over cook it once it dries out it doesn't taste so good anymore.

limited out on Vermies the other day and fried em, one of the best fried fish we've ever done!

To the Texas Fishing Forum. Glad to have you on board.

Going out thursday the 29th, I hope to catch a mess of them. Whats the limit? isnt it 20 per person per day?

Not exactly. You can keep a total of 20 reef fish, which includes vermillion snapper. The other fish in this group are lane snapper, almaco jacks, grey triggerfish (only two), tilefish, goldface tilefish and blueline tilefish. You can keep a total of twenty of these fish in aggregate, except for gray triggerfish, which you can only keep two but they count for the twenty total. BTW, they are talking about lowering the vermillion limit to ten.

Something I read on 2cool fishing makes me think it's a done deal.