Your eel got sucked in by a fish that obviously had another eel in is throat or belly. Unfortunately, when you set the hook the piont drove right into eel number one's side. Not anchored firmly in your intended bass. When you started to fight the fish, both eels were yanked from the basses innards. Now your standing there with two eels wondering what the heck just happened while your bass is heading south with an empty stomach.
I saw a guy at Carolina trout pond in RI catch a trout w/ a mepps. The hook wasn't in the fishs' mouth, one of the trebles went through the eye of ~size 6 or 8 hook already in the trout's jaw.
My Godfather and I were hammering LMB in the 2-3.5lb range all spring on Zoom worms and lizards. I lost a few when setting the hook on fish. My Godfather caught a 4lb fish that had a zoom worm and lizard just sitting in it's mouth. I felt bad...