eyesight of most florida shallow water fish

Question
Do most of floridas shallow water fish (snook, redfish, pompano and trout) see colors, and to what extent. I know they can see patterns well. I just see all those lure companies with all the different color variations, and wonder if all that is really essential for catching fish?

Answer
Hi Kirby:
You guessed it:  lures are made for people who buy them, not for fish that might eat them.  That having been said, there no doubt are colors that work best, and I think it depends on the color of the bait fish (or crabs, shrimp, etc.)that the fish you are after is eating at the moment. For example, here in Florida my feeling is that snook are usually after small fishes that are dark on top and have light-colored bellies, so I use black or green backed plugs with off-white undersides.  Redfish, whose eyesight is not as good as snook's, grub in the sand for crustaceans at the red end of the spectrum.  That is why orange, gold or reddish lures work with them.  Pompano like a flash of red or orange to simulate the egg cluster of a sand flea. And since you stipulated shallow water, one can assume clarity is generally okay, so it becomes even more important to match the color of their prey.  However, if the water is sandy or generally unclear, fishermen feel more color is necessary so the fish will see the lure. So I guess that as with all fishing questions, no absolute one answer fits all situations.  But I don't feel that outside of the basic colors it is necessary to fill your tackle box with every color.  Good luck.  Boris