There was some concern yesterday about handling the flounder with hooks we weren't able to easily extract.  I did some research concerning the best way to handle the gut hooked fish we kept seeing.  This is from the State of Florida's Marine fisheries website, concerning the subject:

"Hook wounds may appear minor to anglers, but damage to the gills, eyes, or internal organs can be fatal. If the fish is hooked deep in the throat or gut, research shows that it is best to cut the leader at the hook and leave the hook in the fish. Prolonged attempts to remove the hook often do more harm than good. In the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute’s (FWRI)* study of release mortality in snook, 24 snook were deep hooked. We removed the hooks from 12 snook, and we left the hook intact and cut the leader in the other 12 snook. We found that four of the 12 deep-hooked snook died after the hooks were removed. None died when we simply cut the leader and left the hook alone. Fish are capable of rejecting, expelling, or encapsulating hooks. Encapsulation is a process whereby the fishes' healing process causes the hook to be covered with an inert matrix of calcified material; or a-cellular tissue. Steel and bronze hooks are less toxic and are rejected or “dissolved” sooner than are stainless steel and cadmium-plated or nickel-plated hooks."

Another fishing site stated that fish can raise acid levels in their digestive system and dissolve a hook, or foreign object in a matter of days.  I think either way the chances of survival are much better without digging around in the flounder's small mouth.  I am going to try to find steel hooks and start to tie my own leaders though.