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While Dan, Werner, and I had done a few offshore trips together in the past and Ebersole was a seasoned sailor, this trip would be the first of its kind for Wright and Shertzer. Joining me on this potentially misguided venture was my brother Dan of Brookhaven, Steve Wright of West Chester, Pete Werner of West Chester, and Werner’s buddies Keith Ebersole of Manheim and Lee Shertzer of Lancaster. Nonetheless, after a few landlocked years on shore the six of us were hungry to finally get offshore again and test our angling luck. The $3800 price tag for the trip (with an add-on of another 20 percent for the mate’s requisite tip) made this venture significantly pricier than it would have been a year or two ago. Another caveat about this trip would be the added expense involved fueled by record high diesel gas prices. I had originally inquired about an overnight trip but since overnight outings had been unproductive Drosey couldn’t recommend one, so we settled on a day trip. I had booked this trip with Captain Joe Drosey aboard the sturdy Rhonda’s Osprey, a 60-foot Taylor Harrison Custom Carolina craft, weeks ago. We accordingly steeled ourselves for what would likely become no more than an extensive, expensive boat ride. Needless to say, Strauss’s dreary assessment sank our initially hopeful expectations of boating a few tasty tuna from sky high down to the depths of the Mariana Trench. It was not the report any of us wanted to hear. That’s when mate Eric Strauss stepped into the cabin and delivered that pessimistic prognosis of our pathetic piscine prospects. Saturday morning when charter boat Rhonda’s Osprey with our team of six anglers aboard pushed off from the dock at Fisherman’s Marina in Ocean City, Md. We’ll do our best to catch whatever’s biting, but if the fish aren’t there, there’s nothing we can do about it.” “Just so you know, this season we’ve had the worst fishing that we’ve ever experienced in the last ten years. It was hardly a promising prognostication. Rhonda’s Osprey mate Eric Strauss scans eight trolled lines waiting for the tuna bite to start up.