Valid age and growth data are necessary for an understanding of the life history of fish, including characteristics such as average growth rates, age at maturity, and average life spans. The age of salmonids is usually assessed by identifying annuli on scales and otoliths. Accurate age determination depends on whether these marks are formed annually. Validation of annuli for rainbow trout in the southern Appalachians has not been reported, but scale and otolith marks have been used widely for aging. This study will attempt to validate otolith and scale marks. Oxytetracycline was used to mark otoliths of visible implant tagged rainbow trout in a mark and recapture study at Sam's Creek, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Shining Creek, in the Shining Rock Wilderness Area, Haywood County, NC. Fish from all age groups were marked in July and October, 1997 and June, 1998. Some recaptures were harvested in October 1997 and June 1998, with most harvested in October, 1998. Scales were compared with marked otoliths to validate annuli formation and determine time of year that annuli form. The average growth rate for each age group and the relationship of scale and otolith growth to absolute growth was also determined. The data obtained will be available as a baseline for trout age and growth information in the Southeast.