A young Bob sits down to enjoy a delicious fish fry he caught, cleaned and cooked for the crew.

ESCANABA- Golden brown walleye, perch, bluegill and smelt that are beer battered or Golden Dipt and deep fried to perfection make for a fantastic Friday night in Upper Michigan.

We’re famous for our fish fries!

The traditional fish fry is a feast fit for a king or queen. If you travel outside of the 906, chances are you will not find a fish fry as awesome as right here at home.

Two reasons make our fish delicious, Great Lakes and great cooks.

Walleye is the Bay de Noc’s gold! Fresh caught perch and bluegill from cold, clear water is a delicacy. Whitefish, steelhead trout and lake trout from the deep water can’t be beat, either.

Our lakes, bays and rivers are some of the greatest fisheries in the country. Anglers flock to the U.P. to fish on the ice and the water.

Fresh fish is the first ingredient in a good fish fry.

Next you need a kitchen boss with all the right recipes.

Homemade rye bread or buns should be prepared the day before the feast. Cabbage should be shredded, and carrots should be peeled for coleslaw, too. The beans must be rinsed and soaked so that they can be simmered good, slow and long to make the best baked beans.

Tarter sauce, table settings, catsup, a lemon and enough chairs around the table for the whole extended family are a must.

Perfectly cleaned and filleted pieces of fish are then breaded for the deep fryer. Some of the favorite brands are Andy’s Fish Breading, Shore Lunch, Golden Dipt and 906 Breading.

Growing up in Escanaba’s north town, fish fries were a family thing, especially during the church season of Lent.

My dad, uncles, brothers and friends all fished. My mom and aunties put on some very wonderful fish fries back in the day.

To this day, my aunt Sandy makes the very best baked beans ever. My aunt Nancy could make homemade bread that melted in your mouth. I still use my Aunt Mary’s coleslaw dressing recipe.

Decades later, after my son, Robert, was in the picture, he became the fish fry expert. Not only did he catch most of the fish to be cooked (well, my husband did catch a few), but he also organized the meal and fried the French fries and the fish.

Grandma, grandpa, uncles and cousins — we’d have a house full. Robert and my husband had a big outdoor deep fryer, so the walleye and perch were cooked out there. The whole neighborhood smelled wonderful.

Many area restaurants offer great fish fries. The best part of going out to eat fish is that you don’t have to clean up the kitchen at your house.

Gather your family to enjoy a few more Lenten fish fries. Whether you catch and cook your own fish or purchase a meal all ready to go, count your blessings and be thankful for clean water and good cooks.