Recreation Entrepreneurship

RATTLECAN WILL REEL YOU IN: Local Fisherman Crafts and Sells Custom Baits, Lures

Rattlecan Red Customs has been luring folks in for 8 years

Matthew Baughman |

REEL 'ER IN! Local and longtime fisherman Michael VatterCan has been crafting and selling custom lures for eight years. (Photos via Facebook)
REEL 'ER IN! Local and longtime fisherman Michael VatterCan has been crafting and selling custom lures for eight years. (Photos via Facebook)

Michael VatterCan, a local Walleye fisherman and 80s enthusiast, has been reeling customers in with his custom lures for eight years.

What started as a personal venture developed into a business after fishing companies stopped using certain colors that Michael liked. Now, custom-painted and alternatively designed fishing lures are shipped out to 46 states.

Although he spends a lot of time working at a paper mill, Michael’s love of tinkering and passion for walleye fishing has kept RattleCan Red Customs afloat. Since Michael has been fishing from a young age, he always tests and exclusively uses his own jigs to make sure that the products he sells to customers are truly high-quality goods that won’t tangle up on the first cast.

Michael explained that his lure-making process produces 8 lures an hour for painting alone, an additional hour tacked on for the time it takes to clear coat and install hooks into each of his jigs. Anything from Rip Raps to Phat Shad Cranks, Michael runs a pristine local operation to make sure that his custom lures get into the hands of fishing fans who have come to appreciate his business over the years.

His baits have been purchased by professionals in the National Walleye Tour, RattleCan showing its cast reaches out farther than Halfmoon Lake. RattleCan doesn’t exclusively adhere to lures for one specific fish, as they can be used on all kinds from Musky, to Walleye, to Panfish, and many more.

For Michael, seeing and meeting fishermen, old and new, has been a wonderful product of a worthwhile passion. For those looking to get ahold of a good custom lure for this fishing season and the next one, make RattleCan Red Customs your next stop.


Check out customwalleyebaits.com to see the available products and Michael VatterCan's blog posts, or order through the Facebook page.