Broken 16' Trolling Rod

[Sawdust Farmer]

I tried out my spider rigging setup today on a small private pond. Just doing a little bream fishing with two 16' Ozark Pro Series Trolling Rods making sure I had the spacing right on my seats and holders. After catching a few nice bream on it, one of my redworm rigs snagged on a submerged treetop. I tried giving it a light "flip" (much less than a good hook set) and the rod snapped near the bottom of the tip section. I bought the rods "preowned" from another member here last fall. He had bought them for a tournament, but never used them. This was my first time to use them and other than inspecting them when they first arrived, they've been safely stored in their shipping tube. Obviously I'm a little disappointed - the only other rod I've broken was due to a storage compartment lid slamming shut on it. Since I didn't buy them new, I can't guarantee there wasn't hidden damage (if there was I don't think the original owner was aware of it). I've included some pictures, so if anyone has any thoughts on what caused the failure I'd love to hear them.

Thanks,
sf