It doesn’t mean you can fish the lake yet, but it’s certainly a start.

A ceremony will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday at Okhissa Lake with keynote speaker Sen. Thad Cochran to celebrate the completion of a dam for the 1,000-acre recreational lake.

The lake is located off U.S. 98 in the Homochitto National Forest just three miles south of Bude.

It’s a project that has been six years in the making &045; not counting 50 years first spent gaining grassroots support for the project.

Officials associated with the project hope it will bring visitors into the area, impacting the economy, as well as provide fishing and other recreational opportunities for locals.

But completion of the dam &045; at 97 feet, the tallest earthen dam in Mississippi &045; is only the latest milestone in the project, according to Tim Reed, district range for the U.S. Forest Service.

&uot;What we’re looking at right now is trying to finish the boat ramp and parking area, which should happen in 2007, when the lake is at full pool and ready for opening to the public,&uot; Reed said. The lake has already been stocked with fish.

The Forest Service sent out a call last year for proposals from private developers to build cabins, campgrounds, a marina and the like at Okhissa Lake but received no responses, Reed said. But he added that the agency plans to reissue that call as soon as possible.

&uot;We’re now looking at how to repackage that prospectus so we can receive responses from the public,&uot; Reed said.

Those attending Saturday’s ceremony are asked to park at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Bude.

From there, transportation will be provided to the ceremony site, said Jeannine May, spokesperson for the National Resources Conservation Service, another agency working on the project.