Yeah I guess I will have to pay the cost of licenses; but again, I was hoping this was not "fishing" so I would not have to worry about filming withing trout season. I got a response from the game warden / DNR office1. Without a search, I find it pretty persuasive that a person is not fishing if he drops a line in without a hook.
2. I think if I were a cop who saw someone who appeared to be fishing in the way the OP is writing (without a hook), I would think a prudent person seeing it would think the person was fishing. That is going to be probable cause for arrest or citation.
3. How much is the license as compared to the cost of making the argument in court the person was not fishing because he did not use a hook?
"I checked with our enforcement operations manager, and he said the statute does not define fishing as having a hook at the end of the line. He recommended that you speak to the local officer to clarify what you are doing and so that you are not accidentally cited for something you are not doing. Even if you don't have hooks or lures, you would probably want something at the end of the line to weigh it down. Technically a fish could grab this."
Thank you all for the feedback, greatly appreciated.