I had the same problem when I added whole hops to the secondary. Besides soaking up a bunch of my brew, I wasn't getting the nasal punch I desired. Come to find out, a Portland area brewer recommended adding pellets to the primary on day #4. Supposedly PH and other water chemistry variables (don't now those) are best for extracting aroma at that point. I've tried it several times now with 1 and 2 ounce additions of either cascade or Amarillo pellets with pleasing results. In addition, as the fermentation winds down and the yeast floculate, they take most of the pellet particulate down with them and encase them in a blanket. Transfer to the secondary ends up nice and clean with almost no particulates. As for aroma addition, which is subjective, I would say that dry hopping in the primary on day 4 works good and that Amarillo is my fav so far.
cheers