islandbass

@ButchAWow! That’s a sick pair of pliers with those settings. That takes round bend pliers to the next level. 👍😎 

Sorry for your loss. A bummer for sure. 
That’s why it’s called fishing and not catching and unfortunately, you win some you lose some and we know it hurts. We’ve all had those moments. 
 
However, with that said, there are some basic principles that can improve our odds. 
 
1) Always maintain tension on the line and the bigger the fish the more crucial and critical this is. 
2) Apply maximum pressure on the line by maintaining at about a 45 degree angle with the rod (in front of you is zero degrees and above your head is 90 degrees in the vertical plane) regardless of the plane your are holding the rod. This allows your rod to apply the most direct pressure on the fish and gives you the best chances to keep that tension. It is this tension that reduces their chances of getting away, spitting your bait, or allowing them to jump. It is also this max pressure that gives you the best chance to coax them away from the cover when those opportunities present themselves to you. 
 
Incidentially, if you mean “raising your rod” as going straight vertical such that you made your rod almost bend 90 degrees, then that is a 100% no-no. A - This is known as high-sticking the rod and the potential for the rod to break is great. B - Your rod cannot provide the required power in that position. I am willing to bet you felt like you had no control to play or horse the fish in ways you could gain an upper hand. I bet it felt like your rod felt inadequately powered or dare I say underpowered. It was most certainly not; but you did confirm for yourself that in that position, your rod was not in an optimum position. 
 
The last thing is patience if you were unable to prevent them from hunkering down into cover at the start. In the grand scheme of things is 7 minutes really a long time? Okay, it is, lol but I think you get the point. Be patient, stay calm and cool. 
 
With that said, I feel for you. Sometimes I suffer through a few weeks of shoulda, coulda, and woulda and might even wallow in some self pity and repeat that lost battle in my brain 1 a million times a day. 
 
one last thing. One of the sneakiest things the fish can do that can throw a monkey wrench in keeping tension on the line is them swimming toward you. You have to be mindful of that and reel up that slack asap. This is a double edged sword for the fish.  On the bright side, them swimming toward you is also an excellent opportunity for you to gain ground  on them. ??

What you have already covers most basics. Any more and your simply augmenting your Arsenal. This is a no frills, minimalist approach, which I subscribe to. The most I’d take is 4, most of the time 3, from the shore but I decided a means to carry all my rods in so carrying multiple rods not an issue for me. 
 
Addendum: The only reason to carry more than you have will most likely be for convenience sake. A medium spin and an mh bc rig and a UL cover most of the bases. The downside so to speak is the cutting off and retying when switching lures— this is what extra rods alleviate but it also means more crap to carry if you are shore bound.