Carbon County and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission are embarking on a new endeavor to hopefully attract fishermen to the Lehigh River.

On Thursday, Commissioner Thomas J. Gerhard announced that the state is going to stock a 3.1-mile section of the Lehigh River - from the old railroad bridge near Glen Onoko to the Mauch Chunk Creek near Turkey Hill in Jim Thorpe.He said that 1,000 rainbow and brown trout, ranging in size from 7 inches to 14 inches will be released in that area by the Fish and Boat Commission on April 13, two days before the opening of trout season.As part of this effort, the county is allowing fishermen to parking in the upper end of the county parking lot for free after the start of the season, Gerhard said. To qualify for the free parking to use the Lehigh River for fishing, people will need to show a valid Pennsylvania fishing license that has a trout permit."We're pretty excited about it," Commissioner William O'Gurek said. "The Fish and Boat Commission said they felt what the Lehigh River offers is the opportunity for it to be a destination for fishermen."