Baja Reverie

Fishermen are dreamers—big dreamers—and one of the visions that makes a saltwater fisherman's workaday life bearable is the one that transports him to Baja California, dropping him gently on the shore of the Sea of Cortez. Francis Golden—angler and artist—realized the dream, and the palpable evidence is shown on these and the following pages in a portfolio that is the next best thing to experiencing the rugged charm and beauty of this land to the south, where the vivid green and blue waters teem with marlin, roosterfish, dolphin and yellowtail.

Off Punta Colorado, 80 air miles south of La Paz, the artist's eye catches a fisherman who spent a quiet morning fly casting for roosterfish. None of the big roosters showed, but success came with numerous mackerel and ladyfish. Offshore a large yellowtail fell to the mate's gaff (right) after a running fight. Natives, with the help of donkeys, gather stones ashore to be used for building roads and houses.

A common sight at Punta Colorada is the shark fisherman wandering over coastal waters in his small boat with a harpoon ready across the bow. No captured fish are ever left to rot on the docks; this striped marlin, under the watchful gaze of a retriever, is being lugged ashore, where it will be smoked by the natives to make delicious fare.