A castable fish bait dispenser (1, 15, 25) comprising an openable hollow housing (16a, 16b) for containing fish bait to be dispensed, the housing being at least partially biased to an open position for receiving bait to be cast and subsequently released, the dispenser having a latch mechanism (4, 5 & 17, 19) for closing the housing against the opening bias, the bait dispenser including catch means (10, 11 or 22 or 26) including a fixed catch member or formation for temporarily connecting the casting line to the housing, either directly or indirectly, and being operable by a trigger (8, 20, 34) to release the bait upon release of the catch means, the latch trigger being operable via the casting line, directly or indirectly, after casting of the dispenser over or into a target area being fished.
