Eagle Cuda 300 v. Elite 4

On Saturday, I fished with dampainter out of Depoe Bay and while we were fishing a couple of areas, I was marking clouds of fish where he was only bottom. Side by side his was pretty sweet showing depth and structure as was mine, but covering the same area, he didn't show ANY fish. Our temperature readings were also off by quite a few degrees. I had actually considered the Elite 4 or 5, but after this, I'm going to be in the market for a Cuda 350. That GPS feature would come in handy when that fog rolls in. Has anyone else had this problem with the Elite 4?

True

I know nothing about the Elite 4 but I do have a Cuda 350 and LOVE IT!!!! Nice unit for the price if that helps.

Oh, I know it! Can't find any used ones out there on eBay. As soon as I do, it shall be mine. Oh, yes. It shall be mine.

Fred

I stole mine off my boat I liked it so much 

There is a pretty good handful of settings that can be effecting what your picking up.
 
I picked up 2 of the 350's and have kept an eye out for ebay auctions also for more.  Also look for Cuda 250s/map units  which seems to have almost the same specs / features as the 350.
  I think the difference is the 350 has the "Advanced Fish ID" which with the FishTrack on, the digital depth is shown next to each marked fish symbol.   




 

That is correct, it is a really cool feature.

anyone want to buy a slightly used elite 4 dsi? after seeing fred`s f.f. light up with fish and not a one on my elite am in the market for another f.f. i will say the elite saved my bacon in the fog. i was using duct seal with saltwater saturday with transducer....i had fresh water with me and used that friday but did not see any difference with the two waters. as fred said his was lit up with fish as mine was not other than that not much differences....what gives??? also i found out that dsi`s do not have sensitivity setting only contrast(which did not help) and brightness controls. 

Seeing as that no one wants to give up their Cuda 350, I may need to get the Lowrance Mark 4 from Cabelas. They're running $179 new.

Fred "True" Trujillo

I have both an Elite 4, non dsi,  and a cuda 350.  I like them both,  but the Elite 4 is faster and has better resolution.  The color also makes it easier to tell the difference between fish and weeds. 

Just because a fish finder "lights up with fish" does not mean there are any fish under the boat...settings such as "fish ID", (which I'd never use as it IDs much more than just fish), sensitivity, surface clutter, ping speed all dramatically affect what shows up on your screen...not to mention, if you're shooting through the hull, air bubbles and imperfections can give false signals too. Once you have an elite-4 dialed in to your conditions, there's no comparison between the two...and by the way, settings for shallow water/deep water/saltwater are all different.
Most importantly, the Elite-4 has nearly 3 times the peak-peak power as the Cuda 300 (2100 vs 800 watts)...not to mention the built in GPS/Chartplotter and the color display of the Elite-4 put in a class well above the Cuda 300...in my humble opinion.

I have a Mark-4 on one Outback and an Elite-4 on the other...like them both, but as ndogg said, the color makes it much easier to distinguish between rocks, seaweed, kelp and really makes the fish standout...it's worth the extra $$...again, in my humble opinion.