Fig: to take advantage of difficult situations for personal gain. In a wider sense: to look into cloudy and obscure situations

To understand the downfall of the champ, you have to fish in the muddy water of his private life

Per capire la caduta di quel campione sportivo, bisogna pescare nel torbido della sua vita privata

During the country invasion the secret services fished in troubled water to detect the enemy's spies

Durante l'invasione del paese i servizi segreti hanno pescato nel torbido per smascherare le spie del nemico

"Fishermen often experience their greatest success when the water is rough. In its figurative use, the phrase implies that though things may be troubled on the surface, at a deeper level, the situation holds potential for gains" (Urdang, 107)