Allen Martin planting a Cyprus tree at Suwannee Lake.

LIVE OAK — Suwannee Lake is open for fishing.

Allen Martin with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission gave a presentation to the Suwannee County Board of County Commissioners about the completion and re-opening of Suwannee Lake, located on 91st Road.

The lake has been closed to anglers and boaters since Oct. 1, 2013 for renovations.

The revitalization process took a lot of work and progress involved multiple stages of renovation, Martin said.

It was drained to remove organic material from the lake bottom and woody vegetation along the shoreline, Martin said. The bottom of the lake was scraped, removing about 60,000 cubic yards of organic muck.

“A lot of stray logs and stumps that were out there were piled up to provide structured habitat for fish,” Martin explained. “In this process, we unearthed several very old cypress stumps that had been completely covered over with muck.”

Some areas of the lake were deepened, and enhancements such as shallow submerged islands, brush piles and larger bank-fishing access points are being created.

Officials then filled the lake and restocked it with many types of indigenous Florida fish including bass. Martin said that after a few more years the bass will be excellent trophy fish.

Currently beneath the surface of Suwannee Lake is a world of new and growing life.

“It’s a new lake now,” he said. “You haven’t seen Suwannee Lake before this.”