Storing live bait in vending machines is certainly not the strangest thing you'll find if you google the subject, but this isn't Japan! Aussie anglers have noticed vending machines being installed at popular fishing locations all around the country since Christmas, selling live worms, as well as the usual chilled prawns, pilchards and squid.

Bait 'n' Go, the company behind the machines say they've doubled their numbers since Christmas, with the machines being far more popular than they ever thought! Anglers can grab bait any time of day, right there at their fishing spot without packing up and driving to the local tackle store. While some obviously love the idea, (otherwise, the machine numbers wouldn't be increasing so fast!) others are still on the fence as to whether they're a fad, or will become a permanent part of the landscape.

"Oh no, we're not worried - 90 per cent of people who go to bait and tackle shops go for local advice," told Gold Coast's Fish and Dive Centre's, Danny Ross in a newspaper interview. "The knowledge in local shops is invaluable and the quality is not as good - they use freshwater worms whereas most tackle shops use worms and yabbies from saltwater."

Other local tackle shops are all on the same page, saying that nobody can beat the local advice you get when dropping by your local store. Most open super early in the morning too, so really, the 24 hour thing only applies to those die hards leaving home at midnight to drop a sneaky line in before the crowds.

Do you think the Fishing bait vending machines will catch on? Or have they started popping up at your local spot already? Have your say over in the Seabreeze.com.au forums, or chat about it with your local tackle shop next time you drop in for some bait!

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