It's pretty universal that we talk more of our successes than failures. Usually when you hear chatter about Vermilion or Mille Lacs, it's reports of the fifties being caught, and you see the photos of happy anglers grinning for the camera with a huge fish in hand. What you don't hear about is the 95% of the boats who got nothing. We don't hear as much about the huge amount of fishing pressure it took to produce all those fish or of everyone who went empty-handed. Unforturnately, this creates unrealistic expectations, the belief that you just wait until dark to dip a double-10 or Dawg into the water and there will be a fifty waiting to snap it up.

Beav, you're probably doing just fine. I recently spoke with a guide on Miltona who reported slow fishing. Vermilion has been really tough the past few weeks. Mille Lacs has been tough the past few weeks. It's likely a state-wide condition right now. If you had tough fishing I'd say that was pretty normal. If it were always easy then the fish caught would be less rewarding and everyone would be doing it.

"Front" is a weather change. Post cold front condions can sometimes be tough, though I don't fear cold fronts as much as most. After the passing of a cold front the air is cool and dry, and the sky is clear and blue, sometimes with puffy cumulus clouds. Just like today, 9/1.