I'll give the soft hackle a try.
Looked at one of the FOTW pages on a soft hackle fly
http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flyt...50106fotw.html
I'll have to tie up a couple of these and try them - they don't look to tough to put together, just need to get some green floss.
Maybe if I had waited longer I would have seen something hatching from the pond -but sure didn't see anything at all when I was standing there. Just need to keep trying - and asking questions.