I recently purchased a quantum smoke rod at the local bps a month ago. Today my 4 year old knocked it over and trampled it breaking the 3rd guide above the handle. My question is will this in any way negatively effect the performance/fishability of my rod? I plan on having it professionally replaced but would rather wait till winter if I can. Its my weightless senko/neko rod and I use it probably 50% of the time when fishing so I don't want to go without unnecissarily. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated.

Your line can be cut by the break/crack

Why wait? Only takes a few days to get it repaired.

How was the guide broken? Is the insert knocked out or was the entire guide snapped off? If the insert is knocked out you can simply remove the guide by CAREFULLY heating the epoxy finish and removing the guide. This can also be done if the guide was snapped off but it is a little harder. Personally I'm with SirSnookalot, it only takes a couple days for someone who is good at it to fix it and it isn't that expensive. Whatever fishing you do while it's being repaired just take the time to try to learn a new technique

Don't use it until you get it fixed.

Line damage is the main concern. Casting may be negatively affected as well. It's a pretty simple fix that should not take long at all. If you feel that you must fish it before fixing, strip the broken guide off completely and use it with the one less guide.

Hey guys I really appreciate all the advice. You make a good point that it won't take to long to have fixed so that what I will do. My reasoning to wait was that every winter I take all my reels and have them serviced so I figured I would do it all together. I actually have quite a few techniques that I use based on conditions and the water I'm fishing but I've been hitting a particular pond filled with 3-7lb bass and wacky senko/neko seems to be their preffered presentation. But I would rather do the right thing so ill get it fixed. Plus maybe I can use the down time to convince my wife that its time to buy the duckett rod I've been eying for the past couple months . Thanks for the great advice!

I've been hitting a particular pond filled with 3-7lb bass and wacky senko/neko seems to be their preffered presentation.

You don't need anything special for this. Any medium/fast rod will do, as long as it's reasonably sensitive.

J francho thanks for the heads up. I've got another medium rod but its a 5 year old bps rod that lacks in sensitivity and is pretty heavy. I bought it used and the tip had been broken off and replaced by an amatuer. I have another thread I just started asking advice for the best senko rod in the 150-350 range as I may upgrade to a higher end rod and use the smoke for other weightless/lightly weighted plastics and give the bps rod to a buddy that thinks higher end rods/reels are a waste of money. Either way thanks for the reply/advice.