Bass

Check your line and drag. Make sure all is in good condition and keep fishing. Nothing you can do about a lost fish after it happens.

I caught my biggest carp ever on a 3/8 ounce jig and burner craw this summer. Flipped it next to a dock and I didn't feel the bite but all of a sudden it just took off. Started pullen me around in my 19' boat.

But then again... 8lb bass do like swim jigs.

It doesn't sound like the fish was running through anything, not a lot of grass or wood or across rocks, just pulling harder than the line strength could withstand, I call this being freight trained.

17 lb line, even at 80% knot strength is still over 14 lbs, bass can't pull that hard and your rod can't take 1/2 that much force. If the line wasn't cut or abraided, it wasn't a bass, if there wasn't a tree, fence post, boulder or some other structure to pull the line against.

Sounds like a 25-30 lb cat, carp or turtle.

Lesson learned, set your drag at 1/3 the breaking strength, ie 5 to 6 lbs for 17 lb test line.

Tom

I don't think you could snag a carp with a swim jig because of the weedguard. But I would definitely tell myself it was a carp

Believe it or not, my son snagged a big cat in the side with a jig.

I had a grass carp around 40" grab a spinnerbait. The hook was in the mouth so I have no doubt that on occasion they will try to eat a lure. That fish smoked drag like nothing I have ever hooked in freshwater. Just a straight line run for about half the spool.

Most likely culprit:  a big cat.