Depth. It’s the one thing that separates the guys catching limits from the guys just washing their lures. Most weekend anglers spool up with whatever green or moss-colored braid is on sale at the local shop, thinking they’re being stealthy. But honestly? They’re missing out on a massive tactical advantage. Multi colored braided fishing line, often called metered line or depth-hunter braid, isn't just about looking like a neon rainbow on your reel. It’s a precision tool.
If you’ve ever sat over a school of suspended crappie or tracked a pack of tuna on the sonar, you know the frustration of "guesstimating" where your jig actually is. You drop. You wait. You wonder if you’re at 40 feet or 60. By the time you figure it out, the school has moved. Using a multi colored braided fishing line solves this instantly because the color changes every ten meters (about 33 feet), allowing for mathematical certainty in an environment where everything else is a guessing game.
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The Science of Metered Line
Braided line is made from Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE). Brands like PowerPro, Daiwa, and Shimano take these raw fibers—often branded as Spectra or Dyneema—and weave them into a tight carrier. The "multi" part comes during the dying process. Typically, these lines cycle through five distinct colors: blue, orange, green, pink, and yellow.
Why five? Because it’s easy to track. If your line changes color every 10 meters, and you see three color shifts go through the guides, you are at 30 meters. Simple. Within those 10-meter blocks, many high-end brands like Daiwa J-Braid Grand x8 even include small white or black marks at every single meter. This level of granularity is what allows professional vertical jigging masters to put a piece of metal right in a fish's face without ever looking at a line counter.
Depth Management Without the Bulky Reel
Let’s talk about line counters for a second. They’re heavy. They’re mechanical. They break. If you’re trolling or deep-dropping, a mechanical line counter is fine, but for active jigging or casting, they feel like a brick on your rod. Multi colored braided fishing line gives you the same data with zero mechanical failure points.
Imagine you're fishing a wreck in 120 feet of water. The fish are holding tight to the structure, maybe 10 feet off the bottom. If you drop a standard moss green line, you’re counting "one-one-thousand, two-one-thousand" and hoping the current isn't sweeping your lure into a snag. With a metered line, you know that 120 feet is roughly 36.5 meters. You watch three full color cycles go out, then wait for the fourth color to hit the halfway mark. You stop the spool. You’re exactly where you need to be. No snags. No wasted drifts.
It’s also a lifesaver for trolling. When you're running a spread of four or five rods, knowing exactly how far back each lure is prevents the nightmare of tangles during a sharp turn. If the port side is at "blue" and the starboard is at "yellow," you have a visual map of your spread that doesn't require staring at a tiny plastic screen.
Does the Color Scare the Fish?
This is the question that keeps people from switching. "Won't a bright pink line spook that trophy walleye?"
Sorta. But not really.
Fish are mostly concerned with what’s directly attached to the hook. This is why we use leaders. Whether it's a 3-foot fluorocarbon trace for pressured bass or a 20-foot top shot for offshore pelagics, the leader is your invisibility cloak. The multi colored braided fishing line is just your delivery system. By the time a fish sees the bright yellow segment of your braid, it should have already committed to the lure trailing behind the clear leader.
In fact, the visibility of the line is a benefit to you. Line watching is a massive part of finesse fishing. When that line twitches or goes slack unexpectedly, you see it instantly against the water because of the high-vis pigments. You can't see moss green line in low light. You can see neon orange.
Real World Tactics: Beyond Just Depth
It’s not just for vertical fishing. I’ve seen guys use multi colored braided fishing line for long-distance casting on beaches. When you know your max cast is exactly 80 meters because you’ve counted the colors, you can start to map out where the sandbar is. If you get a bite on the "green" segment, you know exactly where to aim your next cast.
- Vertical Jigging: This is the bread and butter. Put the jig in the strike zone and keep it there.
- Trolling: Set your distances with 100% repeatability.
- Mapping: Use your line to find the edges of drop-offs when you don't have high-end side-imaging sonar.
- Spool Management: You always know how much line you have left on the reel. If you see the "backing" color appearing during a long run from a tuna, you know you're in trouble.
Choosing the Right Braid
Not all multi-colors are created equal. When you’re shopping, look at the "carrier" count. 4-strand (4x) is tougher and more abrasion-resistant, which is great for dragging through kelp or over rocks. However, it’s loud through the guides. 8-strand (8x) is smoother, rounder, and casts much further. For most people using multi colored braided fishing line, 8-strand is the way to go because it handles the color dyes better and feels more like silk than rope.
Brands like Varivas and YGK from Japan are the gold standard here. They pioneered the "PE" rating system and their color-coding is incredibly precise. American brands like Sufix 832 or PowerPro Depth-Hunter are easier to find and work exceptionally well for heavy-duty applications.
The Downside (There's Always One)
You have to memorize the sequence. It’s annoying for the first hour. You’ll be looking at the box or your phone trying to remember if yellow comes after blue or before it. Most people just tape a small "color key" to their rod butt or the top of their tackle box. After a day on the water, it becomes muscle memory.
Also, braid fades. Saltwater and UV rays are brutal. After six months of heavy use, that vibrant pink might look like a dusty rose, and the yellow might turn into a pale cream. The color change is still visible, but the "pop" fades. This is why flipping your line (winding it onto another reel so the fresh, unused line is now on top) is a pro move.
Actionable Next Steps
If you're ready to stop guessing and start catching, here is how you actually implement this:
- Buy a high-quality 8-strand metered braid. Look for something like PowerPro Depth-Hunter or Daiwa J-Braid x8 Multi-Color.
- Learn the 10-meter rule. Most of these lines use 10 meters per color. Convert your target depth to meters (Depth in feet divided by 3.28).
- Tape a cheat sheet. Write the color order on a piece of electrical tape and stick it to your reel or rod.
- Use a long leader. Attach 6 to 10 feet of fluorocarbon using an FG Knot or a Double Uni. This ensures the fish never sees the "rainbow" even if they are line-shy.
- Track your casts. Next time you’re out, count how many colors you throw. If you’re consistently hitting 50 meters (5 colors) but the fish are at 60, you know you need to change your weight or your technique.
Stop treating your line like an afterthought. It's the only connection you have to the fish. When you switch to a multi colored braided fishing line, you aren't just changing your gear; you're upgrading your data. And in fishing, data is the difference between a "good story" and a heavy cooler.