TWO questions:

1) In your experience, which lens color(s) work best in a variety of conditions on our mostly stained waters?

2) Are Costas ($200+ish) WORTH the cost versus Oakleys ($130-ish) with both having polarized lenses?

I don't have Costa's, but do have a pair of Ocean Waves polarized for freshwater fishing, and recently picked up a set of Oakley Polarized for general use. Ocean Waves is a local company, I think they used to be more popular/larger but have lost some ground to the bigger companies over the years. Still, I think of them as a Costa early on, without the mega marketing machine.

Green works better for me in general for any freshwater, and green or bronze tends to work better inshore. My Oakley's are the default grey polarized, which at times seems too dark, especially while driving. It varies a bit with model, but my polarized were $160 - the standard lens is $110, which is pretty much the going rate. Beware of lower than MAP priced Oakley's, they are one of the most counterfeited items on the planet... With Oakley, it pays to shop authorized retailers only.

Maui Jim's are also very popular in my area, but are the same price point as Costas. Also with Oakley's, the basic model is lower but if you get into there upgraded coatings then they basically cost similar to Costa.

I use the amber lens. I have Costas and some $4 Wal Mart polarized. I see very little difference in them.

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I've had both brands in question.
I had the gray lenses on my oakleys when I bought them - hates them, couldn't see much of anything. Changed to their shallow water lenses and they were better.
Loved my Costa glasses.
I lost my Oakleys in an accident about a month ago. When I get around to buying another pair of "quality" glasses - they will be Costa with the sunrise lenses.
In the meantime, I will continue to use my Strike King S11's and be happy. Excellent glasses for the money.

I couldn't agree more on the S11's being excellent glasses for the money! Got a pair to go along with my Costa's!

Look into Revo. They give you a 50% discount when you trade them in on new glasses.