Speckchaser; I don't think it's wrong to run long leads. I've run 100' drop back for many years but; the longer the lead the less consistent the speed of the bait especially in waves of 2'~4'or larger. Your bait will speed up then down. Sometimes that erratic action can trigger a strike but I like a consistent action so I now run 30'~ 40' leads. You not getting any hits is more likely caused by the wrong depth of water and depth of your cannonball (as a combination) or speed of the bait. Spoons can be run a little faster than plugs; up to 3.4 mph, body baits I run a little slower 2.5 ~ 3.0 mph. I'm in Manistee fishing now and the best depth for me during the past 4 days has been 100' ~ 160' of water with the downriggers running at 65' to 90' down. Frankfort shouldn't be that different. Didn't fish today but I filled out yesterday and didn't set lines until 9:30 in the morning and was back to the dock at 1 PM. If the days you were out fishing w/o a hit, included last Mon & Wed. you're not alone. During those days of fishing only had 1 fish that broke our line. Tough day of fishing for sure. One last thing. I don't fish by the pack. Get away. Try by the lighthouse North of the pier. Run the depths that I mentioned earlier. You should do ok. Good luck; Kahuner