Hi neck....I also hunt bears in Mass in the western part of the state. My suggestion would be to find apple trees. They hit apples hard in the fall, and the apple drop coincides with the first season on them. Other than that it is pretty hard going. Spot and stalk is out of the question here. The woods are no good for that type of hunting. bait works great but don't get caught. I don't see the harm in helping out mother nature. What i mean is, there are quite a few abandoned farms in western mass with apple trees scattered about. Pick up all the apples and put them under one tree..the one closest to your stand. Good luck