I does not seem to me that anyone regrets the monetary costs, more so just aversion to discussing it or being specific. Hence why I gave a super vague range of over $10K.

One of my good friends came to my pond to fish two weeks ago. This is about 70 days after I put in some huge smallmouth. My friend is a super-avid fisherman, both fresh and salt water (in the winter, he ice fishes).

He was rigging his rod which was a 5' super-ultra light weight Loomis with 4lb. test. I picked up the rod and was just a tad more stiff than a wet noodle. I suggested that he use one of my rods because these smallies were tough. He disregarded my advice. He hooked three smallies and didn't land one of them. His girlfriend hooked two and landed both (she was using an appropriate rod for the task at hand).

That alone was worth the amount of money I spent for those SMB.

Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."