‘CROSSING A PICKET LINE' Luck still holding for the fishing few (CATCH-OF-THE-DAY PHOTOS)

Things are a little upside down right now in the “World’s Luckiest Fishing Village” due to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that continues to spew untold gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico.

While the vast majority of Destin’s fishing fleet is now on oil patrol, some are still clinging to Destin’s roots.

 “As long as the fishery is open, we’re fishing,” said Capt. Jim Westbrook, owner of the New Florida Girl’s American Spirit.

“I’m a little disgruntled right now,” Westbrook continued Monday afternoon. “We came here … and this was the luckiest fishing village. We came here to fish, and we’d like to continue to do it.”

Every day, more and more boats sign on with British Petroleum as vessels of opportunity.

“Fishing is good,” Westbrook said. “There’s not much competition or pressure on the fish.”

Right now only about 20 boats from the east to the west end of the docks are fishing. The rest have contracted with BP.

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For photos from the docks Monday, click here

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How can you tell, you ask? The uniform gives it away. Captains and crew on vessels of opportunity wear long pants, short sleeve shirts, closed shoes and a lifejacket.

“I feel like we’re crossing a picket line every time we go fishing out of here,” Westbrook said.

Although Westbrook said he has filled out the paper work on the American Spirit for BP, he said, he’s not so sure he’ll say yes if he gets the call.

The American Spirit took 41 anglers out Monday on a six-hour trip and brought in a fine looking catch. They had several red snapper, lane snapper, triggerfish, flounder and a king mackerel on the racks.

“It was beautiful out,” said Capt. Jim Green who runs the American Spirit. “There was no oil. All I saw was snappers,” Green said. “If it’s red, it’s dead.”

Capt. Green said they even fished to the west, about 15 miles down, before working their way back to Destin.

Capt. Eddie Dykes of the Shamrock II and his group from Wisconsin also ventured west Monday.

“I haven’t seen nothing,” said Capt. Dykes. “Maybe a little sheen, but that’s it.”

Capt. Dykes who already has trips booked the next three days, caught 12 red snapper, a couple of king mackerel and a grouper.

“And the biggest one got away,” said Bob Leidholdt of Wisconsin.

“This was a great day,” Leidholdt said. “He put us on the fish.”

Leidholdt and his group are staying over near Navarre and have experienced some oil first hand. He said they were down at the beach and got it all over their feet.

“It was between our toes, very sticky, and it didn’t want to come off,” he said. “It kind of scared us a little bit.”

However, the next day, he said, everything was cleaned up. “We didn’t see hardly anything,” Leidholdt said.

As for Monday’s fishing trip, “We had a super day,” he said.

Capt. Robert Hanshaw on the Miss Aegina and his crew also went west, but not before a little mix-up at the entrance to the harbor.

When they started to head out Monday morning, Hanshaw said their was boom stretched across from Norreigo Point to the east end of the Marler Bridge.

“It was a little confusing,” Hanshaw said. “We had about 12 to 15 boats backed up,” he said trying to get out.

Capt. Harold Staples of the Al-Lin said the boom ordeal put him behind on his trip about an hour.

Anyhow, the Aegina did get out and brought back grouper, black snapper, king mackerel and, of course, their limit of red snapper.

Hanshaw said he was a bit surprised that the harbor was boomed off. He said, “The only flow we get in here is a little shot of bay water.”

The Knight Rider with Capt. Mike Knight at the helm followed suit and went southwest. He and his Texas anglers reeled in a cobia and a limit of red snapper.

“Fishin’ is alright,” Knight said. “But there is just so many spots you can go. They’re not jumping in the boat, you still got to catch ‘em.”

Atlanta and Louisiana anglers on the Sure Lure with Capt. Don Dineen reeled in a limit of red snapper, while Capt. Neill Finkel on the Shock’n Ya’ll hauled in six cobia — one weighing 89 pounds from the east.

Capt. B.J. Teems on the Awesome Angler said they were fishing about two miles off the beach near Sandestin.

“We haven’t seen nothing … but that’s good news,” Teems said.

They did see, a grouper, a couple of amberine and several red snapper come over the side of the boat.

The Due South came in with a limit of red snapper, a couple of king mackerel and a cobia.

Capt. Randy Hanshaw of the Top Gun, and his group from Arkansas, Alabama and Georgia, pulled in a rack full of red snapper, king mackerel, a red grouper and a few amberine.

“We could have quadrupled that,” Capt. Hanshaw said. “We went east and stayed on the beach, just past Sandestin and never saw a drop of oil.”

Word is — no oil.

Even one of the vessels of opportunity boat captains came in and said they didn’t see any oil. But they did see a healthy turtle.

Whether you are BP’in it or fishing, I’ll see you on the docks.