Yankee,
Tim summarized it really well.
Your boat will be fine right now as there isn't much ice, if any at this point. The river generally is not rough, except for Devils Hole which I would advise against in a Bass Boat. Your trolling motor will work just fine for the rest of the river. There aren't any shoals / reefs etc that you need to avoid. The river is deep and consistent, meaning the farther from shore, the deeper it gets.
This time of year, there will be fish throughout the river, so you just have to hunt them down.