Before the rain hit on Wednesday, Ryan Kenyon of Syracuse took advantage of Onondaga Lake’s new deepwater fishing pier.

He said he’s 70-years-old and has been fishing since the age of 4.

“It's nice because I've got limited time today. So I could come over and just take my fly rod and throw it in the water and play around a little bit, and just enjoy some time," Kenyon said.

The opening of the pier is another step in the transformation of Onondaga Lake and the area surrounding it.

The Onondaga county executive thanked several partners, including Honeywell, for help in making it possible.

“They engaged and they formed a group and made up of sportsmen, habitat enthusiasts, lake users that were involved with the restoration. One of the top priorities was the fact that not everybody has a boat and that we needed to get out more into the water so that folks could fish. And that's what we have here today," said Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon.

The new pier brings visitors 100 feet out onto the lake, where water is about 16-feet deep.

“Big northern pike. There's big largemouth bass out there. It's a great bass lake. In the past we've had some bass tournaments on Onondaga Lake. You'll get a chance to get into some of those, but the northern pike would be the big draw,” said Onondaga County Parks Commissioner Brian Kelley.

“The new dock out here is going to be even better because you can fit a lot of people on there. It's a little bit deeper water that they can get out and to fish if they want to fish,” Kenyon said.

The pier is open and ready for folks to stop by.

The new pier will be open seasonally, spring through fall.