What takes its toll of fish dangling from reel? (8)
I believe the answer is:
turnpike
'what takes its toll' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'fish dangling from reel?' is the wordplay.
'fish' becomes 'pike' (pike is a kind of fish).
'dangling from' says to put letters next to each other (in a down clue, some letters go under others).
'reel?' becomes 'turn' (I can't justify this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'pike' after 'turn' is 'TURNPIKE'.
'of' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for turnpike that I've seen before include "Tollgate of the 16th-19th centuries" , "Old toll-gate, or new road with toll stations" , "where one pays one's way" , "Toll gate" , "Pay money to get past this" .)