Rogersburg: Canyon oasis, fishing Mecca

Rogersburg is dramatically scenic. It's a quiet little community with a mild climate. And there is plenty to do -- as long as it's fishing.

The blip of a community is located in front of one of the best and busiest steelhead holes in Idaho and Washington. In the heart of steelhead season a constant flotilla of boats drift and troll past the handsome houses as anglers try to hook one of the hundreds of steelhead holding there.

Most days at least one Rogersburg resident is among them.

"I fish almost year-round," said Emil Nowoj. "The bass come on in late March and that goes right into the steelhead season in September and October and you can always catch a sturgeon right out in front."

Like most of the homes in Rogersburg, the one owned by Nowoj faces the Snake River. When he wants to fish he backs his boat trailer a few hundred feet to the river, launches and goes right to it.

"The fishing, as far as I'm concerned ... it's a real plus in my life."

But it's not the only plus of Rogersburg. The community of 16 houses has about four full-time residents. The rest of the places are used on weekends and holidays. As with other houses at the northern end of Hells Canyon, the ones here are blessed with scenic beauty, plentiful wildlife and peace and quiet.

But unlike the cabins up river, the homes at Rogersburg are reachable by wheeled vehicles. It takes about an hour to get to the Lewiston-Clarkston Valley.

"I love the commute," said Bob Kivle, a mostly retired optometrist. "If you are going to drive an hour to work one way it might as well be along the Snake River."

It's also a friendly place. Kivle said the residents of Rogersburg always check with their neighbors before going to town to see if they need any supplies. If so they add it to their shopping list and pick it up.

"It works pretty well," he said. "Everyone is always pretty willing to do the shopping or pick things up if the neighbors need it."

Kivle and his wife, Mick, (short for Michelle) bought a cabin here in 1991 and spent most weekends on the river.

They liked it so much they decided to buy a lot and build their retirement home there. Building in the remote location was more expensive and coordinating all the logistics was hard but worth the extra time and money, he said.

Nowoj purchased his house in 1975 when Rogersburg was just a couple of trailers and an abandoned ranch house. He's added to it over the years and now he said the community and his home have nearly all the comforts of town.

"You have everything you could possibly wish for. We have everything up here but a grocery store and a gas station. We have TV and we have our telephone and we have a reasonably good road -- and the fishing."

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