Let's keep in mind that the practice of stocking pure florida genetics as fingerlings is the same practice implemented by the Texas state hatcheries on our public waters. The state stocking plan is working as far as I can tell.
Since the pure floridas are difficult to feed train and grow on pellets, they are difficult to acquire as juveniles and adults. Also I have never tried to clip the pelvic fin of a 3" florida bass, but would assume that would be very stressful on such a small fish and very cumbersome with hundreds of individuals. You are better off not to stress such a small fish.
We work with a local 160 acre lake that historically had been stocking pure florida fingerlings, and they submitted fish to the genetic lab and it was determined that their sample was something like 90%+ pure florida. This is evidence to suggest that a consistent effort can pay off, even with your harvest program. Having this documentation allowed us to make a deal with the lake owners to harvest fish for them and resell them as florida bass adults.
IMO, you are better off purchasing from a hatchery that has gone to the trouble to maintain a program of pure genetics and paid the money to document that program.
