Was fishing by the Drayton Dam one spring. It was full of out of staters mainly from Iowa. Those guys all swore the cats out of the red were the best tasting fish around, they told us we should use our walleye for cut bait.
I've no idea as I've never eaten catfish. I'm not to fussy, but I do think perch are better than walleye. I've eaten small mouth bass out of Lake of the Woods and thought they were just as good as walleye. Crappie and Blue gill are also really good. Northerns I prefer pickled or canned.