So, I go catfishing a lot, and usually do pretty well. I just catch and release though because I personally don't enjoy fish, but my wife does like to eat fish. However, the one time she tried cooking one of the catfish I caught, she could only eat a few bites before she just dumped it in the trash. She said she could taste the "river" in it. We even tried washing it and letting the filet soak in vinegar(which we were told would get rid of the "river" taste), but it apparently didn't work. So does anyone here have any advice on how to make a catfish caught out of a river(The Potomac River in Maryland, specifically), taste good?

First thing I would do is check to see if the river is safe to eat fish from...

Soak the fish in buttermilk?

I would assume it is, I know a lot of people who fish from the Potomac and eat their catches, including my best friend whom gave us the advice to soak it in Vinegar.

Catfish tastes like dirt naturally.

uh yeah ive caught and ate a lot of fish, but as far as i have been taught/told is that you dont eat catfish, period.

Now if i was in a survival situation then yeah id eat whatever i can get, but i dont eat catfish, they're basically bottom feeders of the river like svckers and arent good for eating, so yeah thats probably your problem right there.