I have a large collection of old fishing mags, more than one of which has an article on crappie fishing in which a prominent guide is quoted as saying exactly what I said above, i.e. that they use ten-pound-test with aberdeen hooks - often larger sizes than that being discussed here as well - for the specific reason that the hooks will bend when snagged so they don't break off the entire rig.

Esshup, I don't doubt a bit that you caught a twenty-pound carp on that setup - my point was merely that you weren't getting the full benefit of the ten-pound-test. You could prove it to yourself with a simple experiment similar to what they do sometimes on fishing shows when they're testing the strength of various knots.