Yep it's been done. I have seen it mostly on the Mississippi around riprap areas. Guy just sets some lines along the bank like a trap line and runs them twice a day. Usually works best overnight when fish come shallow. You have to conceal the line if it's in an area where people might be inclined to run them for you. Sure your gonna lose some but you'll catch some too. I also use to tie fish off on a stringer I caught... sometimes overnight and come back to get em the next day. Now on occasion you might have trouble with snakes and turtles getting em....and them dang river otters if you got them. Poor people along the rivers have done just about everything you can imagine at one time or another. I use to run hoop nets from bridges and dikes occasionally. The worst part is its just hard to free them if they get hung up without a boat.