Our Team
Jim Davis
Owner/Pilot
Loxahatchee, most people cannot pronounce it right the first couple tries but it is the formerly small cow and orange town I grew up in. I started my fishing career harassing large mouth bass and blue gill in the canals that keep the swamp from swallowing Lox. I didn’t get into fly fishing until my early twenties when I was flying guys with fly poles out to the Bahamas in small float planes. After a few post bar fly casting lessons I started to carry a generic brand 8wt in the plane. My first fish on a fly was a decent sized bonefish that showed me what was what on the southside of New Providence Island.
I took my flying skills and burgeoning fly fishing abilities up to Ketchikan for my first summer in 2017. Moving from a place that is flat with perpetual heat to a mountain scape shrouded by mists and waterfalls had quite the enduring affect. Most of my time flying here has been in Ketchikan, but I have gone off island and flown in both Bristol Bay and the Yukon Delta, you truly do not know cold until you’ve worked a winter in Bethel! l had a wonderful opportunity working at a lodge in the summer of 2020 that never actually opened, I had four months of summer to explore, fly fish, and learn to drive jet boats. Many of the lessons I learned in that summer have stuck with me and influence the decisions I make every day. In 2021 grew rather tired of the gypsy lifestyle and returned to my friends and family in Ketchikan to join up with Dave and help operate Family Air Tours.
Evan Darnell
Head Guide
Evan Darnell is a passionate fly fisherman with over 15 years on the water and a full-time guide who brings a mix of skill, patience, and genuine love for fishing to every trip. He grew up fishing the Lower Illinois River and the Lower Mountain Fork, learning the ropes on bass, panfish, and trout. Those waters are still home base for him during the winter months.
Evan’s love for fly fishing eventually pulled him out west to the rivers of northern Washington, where he spent years chasing wild steelhead and salmon on the Nooksack and Skagit. That mix of calm Southern waters and fast-moving Pacific Northwest rivers gives him a unique and well-rounded approach to guiding.
Whether you're new to fly fishing or a seasoned angler, Evan’s easygoing style and deep knowledge of both warm and cold water fisheries make for a fun, educational, and memorable day on the water.
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Jim adopted Kip in Bethel Alaska during a very chilly winter flying wheeled aircraft throughout the very frozen Yukon Delta. She is a true Bethel mutt being a Husky, Golden Retriever, Yellow Lab, and Cocker Spaniel Mix. You can usually find her guarding the couch in the shop and checking in Guests. You can support the people who helped find Kip her forever home below.
Kipnuk(Kippy, Kip, Kippernicus, Kippers, Loaf)
Shop Dog
Dave Rocke (Uncle Dave)
Founder
When people ask me where I grew up I usually respond, "I don't know". Either I don't feel that I grew up or can't really pick the place where it might have happened. My junior and senior high school years were spent in a small dairy farming community in upstate New York called Cobleskill. College years were misspent in Cobleskill and Albany, New York. In 1975 I moved from New York City to Port Orchard, Washington and then to Bainbridge Island, Washington.
In 1982 I wrote some resumes (mostly fiction) and convinced a fishing lodge in Alaska that I would make a good fishing guide and worked the next eight summers guiding in Alaska and goofing off in either Florida, Mexico or Washington during the winters. One of the lodges had airplanes and I saw that the pilots lazed around, drinking coffee, while directing us guides to do their work, I thought, "I like coffee".
In 1986 - 1988 I obtained my pilot's licenses to start what I thought would be an easy and carefree existence. Unfortunately I have never found any guides or anyone else who was as easily hornswaggled as I was and so have never realized the life of leisure I aspire to. I worked another two years as a pilot/guide and then nine years for Taquan Air in Ketchikan, Alaska, first as a line pilot, then as Chief Pilot, then as Director of Operations.
Dave passed away in May of 2024 leaving Family Air in the care of Jim Davis. Dave was a mentor, surrogate parent, and best friend to not just Jim and his niece Kendra, but many others here in Ketchikan. His shared passion for flying, fishing, and Ketchikan is what made Family Air it is today. Though Dave is gone, he will always be at the core of our values and love for this business.
Leon Martinez
Junior Guide
Born and raised in Southern California, I grew up playing football, skating, and fishing—starting with bass, bluegill, and catfish in local ponds. In my late teens, I discovered fly fishing, drawn to topwater eats from wild trout in mountain streams.
After my dad passed away in 2021, I found comfort spending time alone in the mountains and along rivers. I later moved from Riverside to El Segundo, where I began surf fishing for perch, halibut, corbina, croaker, corvina, and the occasional striped bass.
Craving solitude and a slower pace, I spent years exploring the Sierra Nevada, backpacking deep into the backcountry and chasing brook, rainbow, and California golden trout—my favorite pursuit. I’ve also fly-fished for carp in the LA and Santa Ana Rivers, and while the water’s rough, the fight is awesome!
Carl Leitert
Junior Guide
My name is Carl and I am from northern Virginia. I grew up an avid outdoorsman and angler exploring the Appalachian Mountains. My love for the outdoors has lead me on countless adventures all across the United States from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in New Mexico, to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota, and the back country of Yellowstone. Most recently, to Montana, where I have lived the past few years pursuing brown trout, cutthroat, and a higher education in the environmental sciences.
Tappen Crash Eisendrath
Guide
My name is Tappen, I was introduced to fly fishing at an early age by my father and grandparents. Beginning in my grandparents' backyard in the Catskill mountains of New York and local creeks in northern Maryland, my love of trout fishing grew and followed me throughout high school and into college. While pursuing my degree, I spent countless days exploring the freshwater systems of Vermont, chasing trout, and dipping my toe into multi-species angling. Fly fishing has brought me to some incredible corners of the world. The most recent being Southeast Alaska, where I am proud to teach and share the diverse and unique fishery we have in Ketchikan alongside an incredible crew of conservation-minded coworkers and friends … and dog.
Join The Team
We do not Hire Pilots as we are a small single pilot operation. If you are looking for a float plane job contact Taquan Air at
(907)225-8800
Have you always wanted to guide in AK? Do you want to become a guide? Do you have good customer service skills? We hire seasonal employees every year to be van drivers, shop workers, dock staff, and fishing guides. A resume is required, no resume, no interview, we don’t hire instagram accounts we hire people. Fly fishing experience is required. Send us a message and start a conversation, we are friendly and outgoing…..sort of.