I guess it depends how your trolling.
If your slowly trolling live and dead baits i would give the boat a litttle squirt of speed after hook up and then keep the boat moving foward while you clear the other rods. Then once the only rod out is the one with the fish on it stop and work the boat back to the fish, keeping the ine taught at all times.
If your pulling lures at 6-9 knots i would just keep the boat going at the same speed until the other rods are cleared then again work the boat to the fish
If trolling high speed lures ( hex heads etc) ease the boat back abit , clear the other rods and again work the boat to the fish.
The fisherman on the rod should be behind the driver so the driver can see the line at all times and work the boat back to the fish at a 45 degree angle keeping the line tight but be ready to react and move the boat away from the fish quickly is it starts to come towards you.
Ian