I'm having a bit of a hard time visualizing the area. Just a thought. What if you went to that area, stood aout where you might want to fish, and then posted a couple pictures showing a shot looking up the river with the shoreline showing, and one down the river. I think most us could give better thoughts seeing the terrain. Another thought, maybe you could post a little bit more precise area description, like a nearby address, because then we could google the address, then do a satelite view to get a better view of the area. Are we talking Transylvania Beech area? No intent to pry, it's just the method can be tied to the terrain.
To explore the area, a thought, start with a slip bobber rig and maybe some night crawlers. I'd start with the rig set to say 4 feet deep, and cast out to where ever you see sunken structure, or bits of trees out of the water. I'd cast upriver and let it flow with the current down to the structure and then some distance passed it. You can work the banks down stream in the same manner, by casting out say 8-10 feet, then let out line so the bobber rig flats down the river slowly and parrallels the bank. Experiment with that method adjusting rig depth.
Do you have any idea, from other locals, what the bottom is like? Is it a flat, is it rock strewn, does it drop off steep from the bank? Those are things that help you decide if bottom fishing might work. Example, If the rip rap bank drops steeply to the water line but then, say 20 feet out, meets with a fairly flat bottom, then I'd go with a bottom fishing rig with a 2 ounce sinker, and load it up with 3 or 4 night crawlers, or chicken/chicken livers, and I'd cast out about 40 feet, at about a 45 degree angle from the bank, towards down stream.
Last, does any friendly neighbor have a boat dock there? If so, definitely a bottom rig, cast down stream from a dock and slightly angled out toward the center of the river. Used to do that in the Utica area from a dock a Marine Builders. Hit or miss, some nights good, some slow.