it sucks to lose a big fish, and it sucks to see someone lose what you know would be their PB. i have seen my dad lose 2 fish that would have easily been his PB. one around 8 and one maybe 12 that pulled the canoe pretty good, and if we would have had a net, i might have been able to get her. i can only guess the size based on my PB, but i think the estimates are good, and i hated to see him miss them.
is your line good and fresh? you think it might get brittle if its old? whatever the cause was, i feel for ya