Bass will work fine.do you have a smoker? I use one with an indian on it little cheroke I think its called, not really sure, but I like to use apple woodchips. For the brine I use water salt, orange slices, lemon, and let the fish soak in the brine over night in the fridge. I don't really notice the flavor, the smoke is what gives it the flavor, but then I wrap in aluminum foil and put it in the smoker for the day, I mostly do trout, if you want more details I could help ya out more, its not hard to to and they are quite tasty. Its also better to eat chilled rather than fresh out of the oven with smoked fish.