I'll chime in...the wildlife code in MO is a permissive code...and it doesn't specifically say that you can tether a fish and tie a balloon to it entice and or follow the fish to find other fish...I would say it is illegal....to me it would be no different than putting white bass (or any other gamefish) under a bobber and using as bait..which is definitely illegal.....it is a very interesting question however...