Wow, no dawn chorus either, in such a heavily wooded area beside a large area of open water at this time of year. So not only are there no fish, no animals but no birds either. That would have seriously creeped me out! Was there any noticable insect life in the area?

Sounds like you've come across something like an old indian burial ground or a secret government environmental experiment gone wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDZBgHBHQT8&feature=related