Johnny Rush holds up a parrot Tuesday, April 18, 2023, outside of his Captain Johnny’s Fish bus store off Highway 395 in Hermiston.

HERMISTON — “Capt.” Johnny Rush has been selling fish across Oregon from the back of a heavily customized school bus for almost 30 years, and has been pulling into Hermiston to supply the city with his fish for 26 years.

Rush, a former Colombia River fisherman, said he always loved the water and its fish. When it was time to hang up his nets and fishing rods, he turned to become a traveling fishmonger.

“The freeways are my ocean, and your town is my beach,” Rush said, as he organized several refrigeration units full of frozen fish in preparation for the delivery of Alaskan salmon. “As long as there are mermaids looking to eat fish, I’ll be coming to sell it to them.”

Rush specializes in selling North American frozen fish cuts that are purchased wholesale from processing plants, he said, maintaining reasonable prices by purchasing “No. 2” cuts of fish, or those with small errors in their processing.

“Usually it’s just that the shape of the filet is slightly different, bigger or smaller than the rest, so it doesn’t make it into the packaging, otherwise it’s a top-tier cut of fish,” Rush said. “By purchasing the lower tier, I bring the same quality for cheaper, all organic fish.”

Depending on availability, Rush sells halibut, lingcod, sea bass and salmon out of his bus from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. every day, though his stocks are limited by both his storage space and the availability of fish on the market.

Purchasing fresh and affordable fish is just one part of the experience Rush tries to curate for his customers, he said, as he puts a great deal of effort into maintaining the “Carribean-style art bus” that he sells his fish out of.

“I’ve always taken great care to keep the style of my bus consistent, I feel like most of my customers come up because they see this quirky nautical-themed bus and want to stop,” Rush said. “I’ve got all kinds of special art and items from my years traveling and working, it’s really special to me.”

The various nautical paintings, tropical flowers, and stuffed sea creatures are all part of Rush’s aesthetic, he said, which he developed over the years through an “on the side” music career that saw him playing in bands with Billy Joel, and releasing several albums on his own about the Colombia River Gorge.

“I don’t play much anymore, but back in the day I used to write and play all my own music about the area,” Rush said. “I still sell my CDs and like to play music to share the atmosphere with my customers.”

Rush will be selling fish near Hermiston at 80796 Highway 395 for the next few months, he said, and hopes to revel in what he called “one of my favorite places in the world.”

Johnny Rush asks customers to call ahead and make an appointment during his business hours at 503-860-1851, but walk-ins also are welcome.