Hey Little Fish,
I am not sure what Trick has come up with but I always rinse the fish briefly under the the cold tap water. The thing between Trick and me.... He liked the basic recipe I provided and has experimented so much with cajun type spices and brining times.
I basically like the plain good old ...not too salty..smoked salmon that no matter who you give it to will say.....The best smoked salmon I've ever had.
I don't understand why you hate rinsing the excess salt off the fish. This is the easiest approach.....pull fish out of bag and with cold water running rinse fish for several seconds under the tap(dry with paper towel very lightly)Lay on rack and let "pellicure"(?)
form before smoking. This may take an hour or so at room temp. The fish will have a glossy or shiny look on the surface.
Not rinsing the fish will make it more salty.
This basic dry brine is one which you cannot screw-up. I wish I knew it before I wasted so much fish with salty soy sauced wet brines. An hour or two of brining time plus or minus is not going to greatly effect the finished product as far as the saltiness. Follow the recipe, only change the sugar/pepper/ and add what you want for variance. You can follow Trick's brining times. If you have any more questions, just e-mail me.