Ep. 84: Adam Papai of OC Fishing Slayer on Big Calico, iRod & Freshwater Crossover

Guest: Adam Papai (OC Fishing Slayer) | Hosts: Daniel Dahlin ([FISH]rx), El Charly, Luke Dean (Bait Slingers / Artemis Charters)

Adam Papai fishes OC both fresh and salt, and episode 84, recorded live on May 6, 2025, covers both. The 8-pound calico on a crankbait he caught at the wall, his iRod setup for 3/8 to 3/4 oz presentations, and the crossover mindset of an angler who doesn’t separate freshwater and saltwater technique — he just applies whatever works.

In This Episode

• 8lb calico on a crankbait — Adam’s big fish. Straight burning a big bait along the wall, the crankbait triggering a strike he wasn’t expecting. The crankbait as a legitimate calico technique at the wall, not just a freshwater presentation
• iRod setup for SoCal inshore — Adam working with iRod on a personal rod build. The specs: covers 3/8 oz to 3/4 oz range for inshore applications. The backbone-to-sensitivity balance he’s looking for, and the conversations with the iRod team to dial it in
• 3/8 to 3/4 oz as the core SoCal inshore weight range — Adam’s observation: most of his productive bites on the wall and in the harbor come in this weight range. Heavy enough to get down in current, light enough to feel the retrieve clearly
• Freshwater-to-saltwater crossover — Adam fishes parks, reservoirs, and saltwater harbors. The crossover mentality: the fish are different, the conditions are different, but the logic of finding fish and presenting a bait is the same. He applies freshwater finesse when saltwater fish are pressured and saltwater aggression when freshwater fish are active
• Salty Bastards event and Spotty Bowl — Adam was fishing both the Salty Bastards meet and the Spotty Bowl that week. The overlapping tournament and community event calendar in late spring SoCal inshore fishing
• Envision it — Adam’s mindset statement when Daniel asked about the 8lb calico on a crankbait: “if you want to catch an 8lb calico on a crankbait, envision it.” The confidence of fishing a presentation most people wouldn’t throw for that species

Beyond the Rod & Reel with Adam Papai

The 8lb calico on a crankbait deserves its own paragraph. That’s not a fluke — it’s a consequence of fishing a presentation with confidence in a place where people don’t usually throw it. Adam was burning a big crankbait along the wall when everyone else was on swimbaits and soft plastics. The fish saw something different and ate it. The lesson isn’t “fish crankbaits for calico” — it’s that a fish that’s seen ten swimbaits in a session will sometimes eat the first crankbait it sees.

Adam’s freshwater-to-saltwater crossover mindset is something the show has touched on a few times but rarely made as explicit as this episode. He doesn’t think of them as separate disciplines. He thinks of them as the same problem — find fish, present a bait, trigger a bite — with different variables. That’s a healthy way to approach any new fishery.

Watch the full episode on the Time On The Water YouTube channel. New episodes every Tuesday at 6 PM.