Stand while catching fish? On the contrary! (5)
I believe the answer is:
easel
'stand' is the definition.
(stand for an artist's canvas)
'while catching fish? on the contrary' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'while' could be 'as' (eg 'while I walked' means 'as I walked') and 'as' is found within the answer.
'fish?' could be 'eel' (eel is a type of fish) and 'eel' is found in the leftover letters.
No letters remain.
This explanation may well be incorrect...
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for easel that I've seen before include "Artistic tripod" , "Lease out the stand" , "Lease (anag)" , "Standing supporter" , "Display tripod" .)