🎣 What Do Redfish Really See Underwater?
Redfish have camera-type eyes with rods and cones. They see best in low light and in the blue-green range, with reds and oranges fading fast. Their tapetum lucidum boosts night/murky water vision, making them excellent hunters in the bayou and marsh.
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Brown – Blends in with mud and bottom; shows up mostly as a dark shade.
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Black – High contrast, especially in stained water; looks very bold and visible.
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Red – Fades quickly with depth; turns into a dark gray or black past a few feet.
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Orange – Shows as a muted brownish shade as it loses brightness underwater.
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Yellow – Stays brighter longer than red/orange; appears pale or whitish at depth.
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Green – Stays visible; often looks more muted or gray-green in deeper water.
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Blue – One of the clearest underwater; stays strong even in deeper or clearer water.
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Purple – Appears dark and blends closer to black in many conditions.
🔬 Scientific Type of Eye
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Redfish (also called red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus) have camera-type eyes — just like humans, with a cornea, lens, retina, and pupil that focus light to form an image.
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Their retina has rods and cones, but the cones are fewer than ours, meaning their color vision is limited compared to humans.
👁️ How They See
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Rods: give them strong low-light vision, which is why they can feed in murky water or at night.
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Cones: allow them to detect some colors, especially in the green–blue spectrum that travels best underwater.
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They’re considered dichromatic, meaning they likely see two main color channels (not the full rainbow humans see).
🐟 Special Adaptations
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Tapetum lucidum: a reflective layer behind the retina that bounces light back, giving them better vision in dim or turbid water (similar to how a cat’s eyes shine at night).
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Lateral placement: their eyes are set on the sides of their head, giving them a wide field of view to spot prey and predators.
Redfish don’t see the marsh the same way we do. Where we see a rainbow, they see a muted, blue-green world with flashes of contrast that help them track down their next meal. The trick is learning to think like a redfish — and when you do, your bait choice starts making a whole lot more sense.
