cant have any as in zero? or would 1/4 cup to 1 cup White Sugar, 1 Cup Brown and 4 quarts water for say 8 hours be too much?

the problems i find without using salt, is it doesnt "cure" the fish like with a salt brine, so you have to "cook" the fish per say more than actually smoke/dry it...

then again, im betting the Indians (some not all, ones without salt obviously) hundreds of years ago smoked their fish without salt, and just hung them by a smoky fire to dry...

if i were to try on a small amount of fish to figure it out, id try 1 cup Brown Sugar, 1 cup Maple Syrup, 3 quarts water, see what it turns out like ....