I have done well before fronts and during fronts, and I have done poorly as well. When I did poorly, I always chalked it up to "I never found any fish." If you KNOW there are fish in a particular spot, they can be caught.
I do know this, on more than one occasion, I have slayed the fish and a rain storm come about (not talking about a drizzle) and the bite shuts down completely. 30 min after the rain, the bite is on again.