Best tasting catfish

What is the best tasting catfish?  flatheads or channels?

I agree, Flatheads are just awesome! 

Definitely flatheads , no comparison 

Smoked bullheads.... never had Flathead, but long time LL sponsor, Ted Peck had a strong opinion on them.  He called them “pot roast of the river.”

Don't forget about bullheads.....love em!!!

The incidental catch of the smaller channel cats while trolling walleyes in Green Bay is a real bonus. Love them fried up like any other fish. Never caught a flathead but I'm told some get them out of the Fox River.

I live in PDC and fish the Wisconsin and the Mississippi so when I do fish cats I look for Channel Cats that yield a fillet just larger than the bun I use, I give away bigger ones or throw them back if they are over 20 inches. My fishing partner says he likes Wisconsin river cats over the Mississippi cats but I really don't taste any difference.(maybe the hot sauce hides the flavor difference) The little cats seem to love stinkbait but we do often catch a couple when fishing gills with crawlers. As far as Flatheads go I catch one or two a year accidently while fishing walleye or even perch with minnows and they always go into the cooler.

awesome responses fellas.  will definitely give the tail cutting a try this year if i can tangle with a flatty.

Flathead cats are divine. I've eaten them up to 20 lb (now only keep under 10 lb) and no discernible difference in taste. I would rather have Flathead than Walleye or Sauger. Bluegill and Perch slightly edge out Flathead, but not by much. The meat has the consistency of scallops. Delicious. As was said, you MUST bleed them out. I cut the tail on both sides and let it swim around in the live-well til it croaks. Most channels I catch get smoked. I only keep 15-20 inchers. Excellent that way. Like jerky.

Step 1- Catch cat fish.

Step 2- throw cat fish back in the water

Step 3- eat a walleye or steak

 I prefer Channel Cats, but as has been mentioned, care is most important. Trim the mud line and the strip of fat along the top of fillet. We have been cutting the tails off, then throwing them in an ice filled cooler. It gets a bit messy, but it's worth it.

Flatheads are definitely superior to channels. With either species the smaller the better, anything over 24" goes back. Bleed them out and remove the blood line/red meat for better taste. 

Caught plenty of Flathead, but never tried. Guess from other's saying so that cooked(boiled) like Poorman's Lobster is far superior tasting than a Channel Catfish cooked using any method/recipe any day. I've eaten plenty of Channel Catfish baked, fried, boiled, and smoked. The smaller one's definitely are better to my taste buds depending what body of water they came out of and area caught at the time of the year. Channel Catfish any size smoked doesn't seem to matter since the brine and smoking process kills most off taste, especially the larger one's. I try to cut out most of the mud line(a.k.a. blood line) if filleting and some areas of the belly meat if it look's toxic. I like to make a Smoked Fish Spread out of larger Channel Catfish I keep and other rough species of fish. A few cold Mt. Dew's(lol, nottt...) and Smoked Fish Spread on a Ritz style cracker make's me a happy Angler!

I vote for 16 to 20 inch channels

Flatheads and by a mile but wouldn't agree with best in the river.  lol

I believe without a doubt Fatheads. Maybe best eating fish in the river.