Scotland's Paul Devlin: "Retire Early and Die Old"

November 27, 2007 By: Marshall Cutchin

£8 million: that’s how much revenue is generated yearly by Paul Devlin’s Glasgow Angling Centre, where out of the 60,000 items for sale online and in his retail stores flies are the biggest money maker. “Devlin started fly-tying as a 10-year-old. His first fish, a pike, was caught on the Forth and Clyde canal at Dullatur. Later he started selling his home-tied flies at Cumbernauld Angling Club events in the town hall, 10 for £1. He left school at 16 to work in local tackle shops before taking up a career in the Inland Revenue as a civil servant. He opened a used fishing tackle stall in 1986 and soon found it was making £1000 a week, so resigned his job to pursue his tackle business full time.” Gordon Mack in Scotland’s Sunday Herald.