Dunk it like LeBron!
Quite a few years back, before I had ever heard of foam flies, my hopper patterns consisted of feathers, yarn and deer hair.
I'd butter them up with a glob of gink and do my best to whip the water off of them after each drift. After a few casts they'd start to sink and I'll be honest, I'd just get too impatient to dry ‘em off again. Somedays I noticed that the fish were hammering them harder if they weren't floating. So I began putting a split-shot or two a foot above them and sink them through the riffles, through the pockets, you name it, the fish would just go crazy! Since then, I always keep a few non-foam patterns like “Dave’s Hopper” in my fly box. I've had some of my most productive summer days on sunken hoppers on prairie streams.
Get twitchy.
Hoppers do not usually sit still, especially when they're in the drink. Plop ‘em down and give ‘em a little twitch as though they're concerned about their future existence. If a trout is under the impression that they have little time to act, they may not give it much thought at all and act on impulse.
One thing is certain, when hoppers are on, they're on! And they're on the menu for a while, so take advantage. Plop ‘em, drop ‘em, twitch ‘em and sink ‘em!