Today I put a little to much oomf into my cast and backlashed to a hard stop and my 20# power pro super 8 slick snapped in two. Has this happened to anybody else or was this just a fluke?

That's what happens when you use a line with no stretch. The tension is just too much for the line to handle

You can expect that all the way up to 40# braid and heavier too depending on the lure weight. Don't hercules your casts and it won't happen. Tune your reel up so it casts effortlessly. Easy fix to that snapping off problem.

Yeah it was me being dumb that caused the backlash

It' happens every time I've taken someone new out muskie fishing. I try to make sure they have a cheaper bait or a floating one on for the first few casts.

It's funny though when it's their own new bulldawg that goes flying.

Yeah.... sounds like you cast pretty hard to accomplish that. That has never happened to me. It will continue to happen unless you take off a little muscle from your casts. 

I don't muscle all my cast, I just got to big for my britches and tried to cast across the lake after seeing a big fish roll lol

I had it happen with spinning gear and casting gear with Power Pro and Fierleine braid!!  and not just on a backlash, I for years never had this happen with the regular fireline fusion, I went to Sufix 832 and have not had it happen in over a year. the other two lines I mentioned cut themselves very easily and were not near as abrasion resistant,,,, like I said never had a problem with the old fireline fusion since its introduction for probably 15 years or so of use, went to power pro, and it was sometimes like what the heck happened with fireline braid and power pro, but for some reason the problem went away as fast as it appeared when I went to Sufix 832???? Spinning or casting I throw hard a lot,,,,,,without backlash, and now without any issues.

braid has no stretch which means no shock resistance in the situations mentioned.

Braid is easy to "snap," especially the thin stuff like 20lb. It's difficult to break. Two different things. If you tie two sinkers about a foot apart with braid and snap it real quickly, you can get it pretty easily, if you hold those two sinkers out and just start pulling; good luck.

Part of the game.

I never understood this phenomena.  I've, more times that I like to admit, forgotten that the flipping switch was engaged and my spool and bait came to an abrupt stop when the clutch reengaged. The times the bait has gone flying was due to the knot coming untied and not line failure.  I've had a lot of knots come untied with braid in the past but I have rarely experienced true line failure.  

 

I wouldn't write off this behavior as "just the way braid is" yet.  A uni with a couple of wraps around the hook eye and 10 - 15 wraps in the knot is the best braid knot I have found.      

I never understood this phenomena.  I've, more times that I like to admit, forgotten that the flipping switch was engaged and my spool and bait came to an abrupt stop when the clutch reengaged. The times the bait has gone flying was due to the knot coming untied and not line failure.  I've had a lot of knots come untied with braid in the past but I have rarely experienced true line failure.  

 

I wouldn't write off this behavior as "just the way braid is" yet.  A uni with a couple of wraps around the hook eye and 10 - 15 wraps in the knot is the best braid knot I have found.      

 

And its not just braid, mono & fluoro do the same thing. Backlash with fluoro and kink it its weakened at that point. Mono was the worst for me and one reason for my switch to braid. And braid doesnt have zero shock resistance Ive backlashed 3/4oz spoons and lipless cranks with 15# 20# braid and not snapped them off.

 

Torque that uni is a great knot use it myself only not as many wraps.