found a nice spot on the chatahoochee river next to my house in atlanta was was talking to a few guys that where fishing for carp the say the catch 6-17 lb carp and cat fish i asked if they ever saw bass and they said yes. So when fishing for bass on a river what aprouch should be taken do you cast down stream and reel up. and should i bee looking for cover like in a lake???

Casting downstream and retrieving into the current isn't a good idea.  Bass will habitually face INTO current, therefore you'd be dragging the lure past them from behind.  Not to say you won't catch any fish that way, but it's far better to bring it into their face from the front.  Any cover on the shoreline can be fished the same as on a lake, but the fish will often position themselves on the downstream side of any structure.  Check out any eddies and backwaters as well.