I went fishing today with my dad and the creepiest thing happened. We were trolling for crappie and had just hit a huge school, so the action was incredibly fast and exciting. We were trolling with the wind and I don't know how much time passed by but the action started to slow, so we decided to do a 180 and head past the area so we could troll back through it with the wind again. When we first started the troll earlier, we went past the boat ramp and started. This time however, after we did the 180, the boat ramp was nowhere to be found. It was really weird. Both of us suddenly lost all sense of direction and we had no conception of time at all. We were essentially lost and I got kind of scared because it was starting to get dark. We found another fisherman and motored over to him to ask where the ramp was. Here is the really weird part. When I asked him where the main Orange Lake boat ramp was, he said no boat ramp existed on this side of the lake, in fact, he said this wasn't even Orange Lake :-/. After hearing him say that while I was already disoriented and had no sense of direction or concept of time, I got kind of freaked out. We turned around again and started heading back to where we thought the ramp was and this time found it. When I turned around to see where that guy was, I no longer could see his boat and never heard him motor somewhere else . The whole thing was very eerie and it felt like some strange Twilight Zone episode. Imagine how scary it would be to be fishing somewhere and then find you are on a completely different body of water than you thought. Just thought I'd share this story with you all.

Do you remember what the guys boat looked like? What kind of clothes did the guy have on?  What about the ramp, how did you loose track of it now that you can think back?  Was it where you looked for it the second time?  Were you indeed on Orange Lake?  

I was going to make a joke, but this is really not funny.

I have a little gadget that I got at walmart for a couple of bucks.

It's a combination whistle, thermometer, and compass.

I am a great believer in compasses.  They are outstanding instruments. and in fact are lifesavers.  Funny but even a cracker jacks toy compass works.

The key is to take a bearing before you depart.  get a fix on a general heading, and point the directional indicator on the course needed to get home.

I have been in deep woods situations.  You look around and everything looks the same.  Every instinct in your body says go "that way", but your compass says go "that way".  You must have already established trust in the compass BEFORE venturing forth.  any doubts about it's accuracy will haunt you in this moment.

But TRUST YOUR INSTRUMENTS.  Your instincts are probably wrong, your compass is not.

By the way that was me in that boat.  I was just messin with ya'  

I agree with Avid. I would like to add that if a compass is all that you have a decent map helps tremendously along with some reference points that you can visually locate as well as locate on the map. I have used this method and it works.

Now, I go nowhere on the water or in the country without my GPS, with extra batteries, and I always have maps for backup.

Orange Lake is'nt near Burmuda is it? ;D Just kidding, actually I am wanting a compass for my boat. My brother and I constantly argue about what direction is what when it comes to wind and such. It will save a lot of arguements.

Jim

And stop experimenting with illegal narcotics.  You are too young for that crap!  Geez,...kids these days.....

Did your orange juice taste a little funny before you went out?  

. Your instincts are probably wrong, your compass is not.

By the way that was me in that boat. I was just messin with ya'

Ill bite.  Was that really you?

. Your instincts are probably wrong, your compass is not.

By the way that was me in that boat. I was just messin with ya'

Ill bite. Was that really you?

No, absolutely not.

As you can tell I like to joke around.  But I do not like practical jokes, or anything that could lead to someone getting scared, lost, or otherwise in jeopardy.

Not to mention that my current injuries prevent from even THINKING about boating for at least another month.

But thanks for asking.  For some bizarre reason I feel flattered.  

Yeah, Avid wasn't the guy in the boat.  He's the guy up in the parking lot with the hunchback, the wicked limp, the patch over one eye, and drool dripping from his lips, telling you he'll eat your children.  

But seriously, that's a weird story.  As LBH intimated, I wouldn't suppose narcotics were involved?  

That is freaky!  

If the guy was wearing a trench coat and large, dark sun glasses, then it was Avid.

lol just kidding with you avid

Sounds to me that you should take avids advice. Sometimes when you "180" it turns out to be a 270, then your in trouble.

Interesting story

I did a little searching for lake maps of Orange lake and came up with a couple maps and a contour map on the net. It looks like Orange lake and Lochloosa lake are connected by a creek.

Is it possible you had made a wrong turn and ended up in Lochloosa lake??

 

Do you remember what the guys boat looked like? What kind of clothes did the guy have on? What about the ramp, how did you loose track of it now that you can think back? Was it where you looked for it the second time? Were you indeed on Orange Lake?

BASS fisherman, the guy's boat was some kind of a center console saltwater boat, possibly a bay one, around 18-20ft long. I don't remember what kind of clothes the guy had one, just that it was shorts and a t-shirt. I don't know how I lost track of the ramp. I guess I had trolled with the wind a lot further than I thought so when I turned around to head back to the ramp I didn't go far enough. It was where I looked for it the second time, and yes, I was on Orange Lake. Why do you ask?

Just to clear this up, I was not under the influence of narcotics or any other types of drugs, and yes, I am certain I was on Orange Lake and not Lochloosa. I also know that the two connect but I wasn't near the creek that connects the two lakes. I think the guy I asked for help didn't know where he was because he didn't seem to be familiar with the lake. My guess is that he put in at another ramp and motored over to the side I was on, so he wouldn't know there was a ramp over there, which is why he said no ramp existed on that side of the lake. And the reason why he told me this wasn't Orange Lake? Either he was messing with me or he thought he was on Lochloosa. At any rate, I found the ramp again but it was still kinda scary, especially since I've fished this lake many times before and never gotten lost.

No needed to clear anything up, pinkfloydrules210.  Nobody here thinks you were on narcotics.  That's why when I posted I put the winking smiley at the end.  And I think it was obvious that everyone else was joking as well.  

And, no, I don't think Avid eats children either.  

And, no, I don't think Avid eats children either.

Chicken si children no

That is a cool story, you guys are halarious with the feedback .lmao

I was thinking maybe you were abducted by avid, ah I mean aliens.

Now, now PinkFloyd.  See what happens when you give in and go to one of those high school parties and start drinkin.    

Sorry Guys. Edited my second post.

Tom Bass,

You're alright in my book.  You're just looking out for these younger people.  I read your post in the Everything Else forum regarding Valascus and his layoff.  Good post.  No hard feelings whatsoever.

Pinkfloydrules, it's still weird that you turned around and didn't see the other boater after you spoke to him.    Do you think that because it was getting dark you just lost him in the shadows, or behind some standing timber?

Tom Bass,

You're alright in my book. You're just looking out for these younger people. I read your post in the Everything Else forum regarding Valascus and his layoff. Good post. No hard feelings whatsoever.

Pinkfloydrules, it's still weird that you turned around and didn't see the other boater after you spoke to him. Do you think that because it was getting dark you just lost him in the shadows, or behind some standing timber?

Most likely he just moved behind the point of land sticking out, or motored away while I had my outboard running. At the time it was really weird, like he was a ghost or something, but thoughts such as this are always heightened when you are scared about something.

Thank you Senile1

I deleted my second post Tom.  No hard feelings.