Fish catcher, empty at first (5)
I believe the answer is:
creel
'fish catcher empty at first' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'fish catcher empty at first' is the wordplay.
'fish' becomes 'eel' (eel is a type of fish).
'empty' means to remove the middle letters.
'at first' says to put letters next to each other.
'catcher' with its centre removed is 'cr'.
'eel' after 'cr' is 'CREEL'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for creel that I've seen before include "Fish-basket" , "lobster basket" , "Large fishing basket" , "Basket (for a mackerel once caught?)" , "or another" .)