CJ's Fly Box

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CJ's Fly Box CJ's Fly Box offers hand-tied fishing flies for sale. We tie flies for trout, panfish, and bass fishing. Find us at http://cjsflybox.com.

My name is CJ Klenske, and I have been fly fishing and fly tying since about 2000. Although most of my fishing is done on the trout streams of the Driftless Area of Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota, I also spend a lot of time chasing smallmouth bass and panfish. When my wife and I travel, I always try to find a little time to spend on the water in that area. So far I have been lucky enough to land fish on a fly rod in Colorado, Montana, North Carolina, Michigan, New York, and Maine. That still leaves a lot of places to try in the coming years. When I was still teaching, fly tying was my therapy. The more I did it, the more I enjoyed it. Now that I am retired, I have decided to expand my tying beyond just being a hobby. The flies that I tie are dependable patterns that can be successfully fished just about anywhere. If you don't see the pattern(s) that you are looking for on my website, just ask. I’m always willing to tie something new or different. In fact, one of my passions it to learn to tie patterns that are specific to an area I am traveling to.

Spent a few hours at Bankston Park this morning chasing the trout. Released about a dozen before the stock truck came, ...
09/29/2026

Spent a few hours at Bankston Park this morning chasing the trout. Released about a dozen before the stock truck came, and at least a half dozen after they landed in the water. It was a perfect day to be on the water.

Finally getting around to posting this. On September 12, several members of the fly club put on a program on fly tying ...
09/29/2026

Finally getting around to posting this. On September 12, several members of the fly club put on a program on fly tying and fly casting at the kids' day camp. Everyone really enjoyed the day.

Dan and the grandkids were in town last Friday, and wanted to go fishing with Grandpa before they headed back to school....
09/01/2026

Dan and the grandkids were in town last Friday, and wanted to go fishing with Grandpa before they headed back to school. Spent a few hours at Heritage Pond. Both kids landed 9 or 10 fish. Everett got the bigest Bluegill, and Lila landed a Smallmouth and a Snapping Turtle. We all had a blast!!!

Been a busy week, but finally getting caught up. Met Doug and John at Bankston last Monday for a few hours of chasing t...
09/01/2026

Been a busy week, but finally getting caught up. Met Doug and John at Bankston last Monday for a few hours of chasing trout. Had to work for the fish we landed, but had a great time. Followed up with burgers and b**r at 7 Hills.

Road trip to Backbone State Park last Wednesday. A little hiking, a picnic lunch and some time on the stream. A pleasa...
08/01/2026

Road trip to Backbone State Park last Wednesday. A little hiking, a picnic lunch and some time on the stream. A pleasant, relaxing day!

Spent some early time at Bankston this morning. Found some pretty scenery and some pretty fish.
07/08/2026

Spent some early time at Bankston this morning. Found some pretty scenery and some pretty fish.

Spent a couple of hours at Swiss Valley this morning. Wanted to try out a new fly pattern I found online called the Bae...
05/30/2026

Spent a couple of hours at Swiss Valley this morning. Wanted to try out a new fly pattern I found online called the Baetis Max. It worked pretty well before giving up the ghost - two Rainbows and two Browns. Final picture is the fly at the end of the day.

It's official now. CJ's Fly Box on Etsy is now closed for good. The tariffs and resulting shortages of some supplies h...
05/15/2026

It's official now. CJ's Fly Box on Etsy is now closed for good. The tariffs and resulting shortages of some supplies have done me in. I'll keep playing with new patterns and methods, so watch this space to see what I'm up to. Also hope to have more time to do some serious fishing of my own. Thanks to all who have supported my retirement gig over the years.

Met Doug and John out at Bankston this morning. Glad to report that the fish were hungry and the fishermen were happy. ...
05/07/2026

Met Doug and John out at Bankston this morning. Glad to report that the fish were hungry and the fishermen were happy. Followed up with burgers and b**r at 7 Hills. Can't ask for anything better.

A heads-up to all of my loyal customers: my Etsy shop – CJ’s Fly Box – will be closing for good in the next few weeks. ...
04/18/2026

A heads-up to all of my loyal customers: my Etsy shop – CJ’s Fly Box – will be closing for good in the next few weeks. No definite date is set yet – I’m trying to use up some of my materials inventory.
In the past year the cost of my supplies has gone up considerably – you know, tariffs and all of that. I’ve always tried to keep my prices at a reasonable level, but that keeps getting harder and harder. In addition, some materials are hard to find at times. Plus shipping costs and sales fees keep climbing.
What started as a simple and enjoyable retirement gig has been getting harder and more frustrating. At this point in my life, I don’t want this to be a job. So as I run out of different supplies, different flies will be eliminated from the shop. Within the next month, I plan to completely close the shop.
Thanks much to all of the anglers who have supported me over the years. Even though I have never actually met very many of you, I feel that I’ve really come to know some of you very well. You have helped to make me a better fly tyer, and I really appreciate that.
I plan to keep my page and website active so you can see what I’m up to in the future. If you have held onto one of my business cards, you have my email address. Feel free to drop me an email or drop a comment on Facebook to let me know what you are up to.
Meantime, I hope you enjoy tight lines and great times on the water. Maybe our paths will someday cross on a great stream.
Again, thank you for your loyal support.
CJ

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Dubuque, IA
52001

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