Today’s angler takes his bass fishing seriously—even if that means taking it wherever he can get it. Yet while the majority of experts argue that the best is confined to locations with unpronounceable names or passport requirements, at least one Broward County resident enjoys great action a lot closer to home.

Forget fairway views. Backyard bassing may be latest buzzwords in condo sales.

Bob Mossie makes decisions. In fact, he does it for a living at a Miami-based insurance company where he enjoys all the perks, as well as the headaches, of a typical corporate executive. Having tasted that bitter pill myself, I realize that his is a job that adds to, as well as utilizes, mortality statistics. Yet risk factors aside, Bob has managed to survive 30 years of management changes, office closures and assorted hypertensive shenanigans by steadfastly adhering to a single, time-honored ethic. Essentially, he decided long ago that, “When the going gets tough, the tough go fishing.”

For Bob, executive relaxation doesn’t require bio-feedback or weekend getaways. Instead, he decompresses with fishing rod in hand near his West Broward home. If this sounds too good to be true, keep in mind that most residential subdivisions contain fishable waters. What anglers aren’t aware of, however, is how and when to fish them.

Parkland is tucked into the northwestern corner of Broward County’s concrete sprawl. Located well away from the Gold Coast proper, the city represents real estate’s final frontier. Homes hereabouts have actual yards, large enough ones in fact that outsiders refer to the area as horse country.

Here and in the adjacent communities of Coral Springs and Tamarac, waterways divide the sprawling acreage like veins on a seagrape leaf. If the carriage-trade ambience suggests something a bit loftier than bass fishing, it’s amid these trappings of quiet affluence that the well-dressed angler can find space to unwind. In our hero’s own words:

“I moved to Parkland five years ago to escape the rat race. It worked.”

I might add that I’ve known Bob for more than a quarter century. At one time, we worked together at a Fort Lauderdale life and health insurance firm. When it came to selling policies, I lacked interest and dedication. However, Bob and I had one thing in common.

Fishing is, and always has been, a great leveler of mankind. Perhaps that’s why world leaders and derelicts pursue it with equal avidity. As it turned out, Bob and I both liked bass fishing, which in South Florida peaks during springtime when Everglades water levels drop.

That part hasn’t changed. Every year, the familiar cycle of stellar fishing followed by summer doldrums repeats itself with predictable regularity. Neither Bob nor I had a boat at the time, which meant we’d have to make the 40-mile trek from the office to the Everglades in order to be able to cast from the bank.

While we enjoyed some memorable fishing, these outings took time.

Actually, it was the kind of time that only young men with lots of it on their hands could afford to spare. In addition, everything was dependent on water levels, which meant that fishing could vary from day to day. What we needed then, and still do, is something more reliable that’s closer to home.

Of course, that was years ago. But somewhere between those days of youthful abandon and the onset of corporate responsibility comes the realization that “going fishing” just isn’t as easy as it used to be. Life supposedly gets better. But you can’t always find the time to enjoy it. Of course, you acquire plenty of stuff along the way. Yet the one thing you can’t buy enough of is time.

Over the years, Mossie bought a bass boat and plenty of new tackle. Yet he seldom took advantage of either. There were occasional forays to Holiday Park or Lake Okeechobee, but after settling into the typical executive routine, Bob’s recreational spotlight steadily dimmed. It was off to work early and home just before dark. Only after noticing one of his neighborhood’s nondescript canals did he make the decision to throw a rod in the car and give it a try.