Line snapped as trying to lift trout out of water

The other day I caught my first Rainbow Trout of the Spring. I had the fish right by the shore ready to land. I tried to lift the fish out of the water while holding onto my line and the line broke about 3 inches above the hook. It is 4lb test line, relatively new. Any thoughts on how to avoid this? I would like to avoid carrying a net with me. Luckily, the fish stayed put in the water and I was able to grab her with my hands.

They make some grips to lip fish kinda look like vice grips. I cant find a pic, but thismite be better for trout cus its smaller.
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/Product_10151_-1_10001_93414_100011005_100000000_100011000_100-11-5

Thanks for the suggestion. Funny, cuz I already have one of those lip grips, but I didn't think to use it to pull 'em out of the water. I'll try that next time.

Do you have a cat? Last month my cat kept knawing on my line putting knicks in the line. Now I keep my fishing poles out of reach!