Help with first casting rod

[GreenGhostMan]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I ordered a 6'6" Veritas in Med-Fast a few days ago and it delivered last night. Feels light and awesome. Ready to give it a go this weekend. Like you guys mentioned, I also read on other sites that Abu rods run heavier than their rating, so that's why I went with the medium. I found it online for $77 and free shipping at Amazon. Hopefully I don't regret it... didn't know they had breaking problems.

I also swapped out the pro qualifier for a carbonlite since BPS had the carbonlite on sale for father's day. Hope I don't regret that either. Couldn't find as much feedback online as the pro qualifier, but I was told it is basically the same design as PQ but lighter. Should be delivering today.

Do I need to lube it up before using it, or does it already come greased up?
And thru all my research, I read that braid can cut grooves into the eyes of your rod. Is this true? Started using braid on a couple of my spinning rods this year, so I don't have long term experience with it. I plan on using 30lb braid on the veritas.

Thanks guys!

[kevinb2035]

I'd put a few drops of oil on some of the gears but that's about it. As for line choice, I'd go with flourocarbon instead of braid. Especially if you want to throw crankbaits on the rod.

[Drew1233]

I would also go with fluocarbon on the casting reel but I also use braid on my spinning reels with about a 3-4ft fluro leader. I've put the setup through it all and have no grooves in my rods eyes. I do believe that eyes made out of a certain material can groove but most do not. Most guys today that I know use braid on their spinning rods, as it eliminates line twist and is very sensitive.

[GreenGhostMan]

Thanks guys.
I was apprehensive about putting fluoro on my new baitcaster to start... I thought it would make backlashing worse since it seems a little more rigid to me (I've been using fluoro leaders on my spinning reels that have braid). Right now its spooled up with cheap Academy brand 12lb mono. I've been casting around in my yard the last couple nights and I must say, it's not as difficult as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not dropping jigs in a solo cup 10 yds out or anything, but I was able to make some fairly long casts without backlash. I thought I would be picking out backlashes every few casts.

So is it not true that fluorocarbon is more difficult to cast with? It was the main reason I planned on using braid once I was comfortable using the cheap mono.

[Drew1233]

I would definitely say mono is easier to cast than fluro. Unless you're using the casting reel in really clear water or for crankbaits you can use braid with a little longer mono or copolymer leader. P-line cxx makes a good copoly leader I believe.