Often they are there, they just don't want to eat. Winter is can be more hit or miss than other times of the year. Harris can be especially frustrating, it seems Harris is a bit of a drive for you, you could very well get to Harris and experience the exact same problem. If you do go to Harris, look around for where the majority of other boats are set up and find a similar spot (similar depth, verify bait and fish on your electronics). I'm not saying go fish on top of anyone but the other boats tend to hint at the right depth and locations to start looking.

Also, minnows are more fail safe than lures. If they are biting, lures work great, but if they aren't in a great mood, minnows will get you more bites especially in winter. If conditions are calm, I like to fish a double hook rig with as light of a split shot as I can get a way with. It takes forever to drop the bait to the bottom but it's worth the effort, they will bite on this rig when all else fails. I think the minnows just float around near the bottom, look natural, and also look stunned which attracts the bite.