Ah, what the heck. You decide to splurge, putting in two more dollars and selecting two dozen wax worms. As part of Smoky Mountain Tackle Distributors, Setzer is in charge of distributing the machines in Western North Carolina. Currently he has the one machine at Triple B in Sylva, two in Cherokee and three in Franklin. Convenience stores can't carry bait inside the store if they sell fast food or have restaurants.
Smaller stores have to put their bait in the milk cooler, for instance.
With people opening and closing that cooler all day, the temperature for bait is not going to stay regulated. But the live bait machines are refrigerated and climate controlled at 45 degrees. They burn no more electricity than a regular coke machine - 110 volts. Inside the machines are 16 vending motors that rotate the compartments, guaranteeing freshness.