Eel catch

A quick question from a born again again angler.

I just did my first session in 5 years as I had to stop due to illness and
had a good day. I was after tench but had 30 or so roach, bream and perch
around the half pound mark so it was a good start. I lost one larger fish
which fought like a tench then I hit into something that seemed like it was
on steroids and was all over the place. I eventually got it on and saw it
was an eel. It put a lot of strain on the rod and broke the 3 lb line just
before I got it into the net but it was at least 24 inches long and had to
be two inches in diameter. Can any one give me a rough idea of the weight of
the fish so I can judge how my new telescopic rod performed. It held the
fish fine and I was impressed with it. It was caught on a bunch of three red
maggots on a 14 hook at midday of all times. The other 5 eels I caught, way
back in my youth, were all dusk or dawn catches and not that big.

Many thanks in advance.

--
Gandalf