does the Temp probe need to buried all the way into the meat to give accurate readings?
Smoking some salmon using the probe and seems like the temp reading shot up very quickly and only had the tip in the meat
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The very point is what gives off the readings.
Good point, Cal. 
Position the last 1/2 of the tip in the thickest, most central part of the meat/fish you're smoking.
It never hurts to test accuracy by placing the probe tip in ice water and/or boiling water.
It never hurts to test accuracy by placing the probe tip in ice water and/or boiling water.
Here is my Rookie 2 cents.
Had a very small butt the other day that I figured would take 5-6 hours at 225* So I had me lady put it in around 10am when I was at work. Around 3pm she gave some updates that made no sense. She was saying that the probe temp was at 180*. So I kinda panicked and had her kick it down to 200* and open it up and spray with juice. She did that and then texted me that the probe went down to 80*...I was like "what the Heck"...I told her she must be looking at the oven temp and not the bottom number...She demanded that she was right. So when I got home the probe temp was down to 170* I decided to check it and turn it around to spray the back of it and while doing that I heard a "tink" and then the butt got hung up...What the heck? I look under it and she had stabbed that probe all the way through and the end was out about an inch and a half. After laughing and teasing her I hit it with my awesome new Thermapen and it was only 160* DOH! so I turned it up and we ate late. But my point was even though the very end is where it reads the temp other factors can give false reading like having only a small portion of the tip in and tons of probe exposed above the meat may run high. So my advice is to invest it a Thermapen and check with that in several places. If you can try and bury all the probe in meat aiming for the tip to be in the most thickest center area, might go in from side instead of top.
Hope that helps a bit.
Smoke Em If Ya Got Em…
Had a very small butt the other day that I figured would take 5-6 hours at 225* So I had me lady put it in around 10am when I was at work. Around 3pm she gave some updates that made no sense. She was saying that the probe temp was at 180*. So I kinda panicked and had her kick it down to 200* and open it up and spray with juice. She did that and then texted me that the probe went down to 80*...I was like "what the Heck"...I told her she must be looking at the oven temp and not the bottom number...She demanded that she was right. So when I got home the probe temp was down to 170* I decided to check it and turn it around to spray the back of it and while doing that I heard a "tink" and then the butt got hung up...What the heck? I look under it and she had stabbed that probe all the way through and the end was out about an inch and a half. After laughing and teasing her I hit it with my awesome new Thermapen and it was only 160* DOH! so I turned it up and we ate late. But my point was even though the very end is where it reads the temp other factors can give false reading like having only a small portion of the tip in and tons of probe exposed above the meat may run high. So my advice is to invest it a Thermapen and check with that in several places. If you can try and bury all the probe in meat aiming for the tip to be in the most thickest center area, might go in from side instead of top.
Hope that helps a bit.
Smoke Em If Ya Got Em…
Good answers but the question leads to one I've been wondering about for several years: if the probe is too close to a bone, will it read too high or too low? I've never experimented to find out.
Yep!....and a fat pocket, like what's in brisket and butts will give off incorrect readings, oh well....just another reason to have a thermapen and learn how to tell doneness by feeling the product.