So, when we're out trudging around doing field work, we come up with some pretty off the wall ideas (most of them I can't make public on this forum). One of them that's stuck is the dream of sampling in politically unstable areas or places that are so inherently dangerous that nobody has been stupid enough to hang around and look for minnows in them before. Just a few that have been thrown around are Somalia, Angola, Afghanistan, and Cambodia. Bolivia is also a dream of mine... Anyway, has anyone had any experience sampling around guerillas, landmines, and the like? I'm not looking to run off like a nutjob and get shot (I can do that in Texas), but with some strategic planning and the right grant...

I've done considerable amount of fishing and collecting in pretty sketchy neighborhoods in and around Boston and Providence. That includes striper fishing at night from shore in both cities' inner harbors. I've encountered some pretty scary characters, some might fit the discription of "guerillas".
Once while fishing alone at the power plant in south Boston, I was approached by a half dozen gangbangers in full colors. I was considering leaping off the wharf and swimming for it but a glance into that water convinced me to take my chances with the hoodlums. Surprisingly, they were fascinated with what I was doing there and spent the whole afternoon hanging out with me asking questions about fishing and sealife in general. Having lived their whole lives in the city, they never once gave thought to the possibility of a thriving ecosystem right under their noses. It was actually a very enjoyable experience.

I have also done alot of collecting and fishing in a decommisioned Army base famous for its unexploded ordnance.

Sorry, not what you were really asking, I just couldn't resist.

On the fishboard I mainly haunt, we have a few members currently fighting over in sandland who occasionally send in pictures of fish they found in between battles. Of course, they generally control the areas sampled at the time.

Here is a great site and program- http://www.baghdadflyfishing.com/

I have seen presentations given by killifish guys of their collecting trips to questionable areas. I am sure the sense of adventure would be awesome but as much as I like fish, not sure I could do it.