Keep an object's momentum/direction when releasing from configurable joint.

I'm working on making a fishing game, and I've got the bobber set as a configurable joint with limited movement from the end of the rod with a constant gravity force acting on it, and the same goes for the hook in relation to the bobber. I can move the rod around to move the bobber and bait with it, but I want those items to keep moving in the direction they were as soon as they're released. I've tried releasing the bobber by making the joint movement free when released and I've also tried increasing the linear limit to a very high value. These make it so the bobber and bait fall, but they lose any movement they had and just fall downward. What can I do to stop this from happening?