most important thing in bear hunting is hunting where bears are LOL
sounds silly but its the truth
since bears have such a HUGE home range(average about 20 sq miles)
the best bet is hunting near the most current food source there feeding on, be it a corn field, acorn's, or fruit tree, or what ever current mask crop is ripe, and most appealing to them
after that scent control and how you access a area would be my top of the list
scouting area's in advance, and knowing what foods are there, and then working off when that food source is at its best and hunt them places
after this, bearing hunting NOT Over bait or dogs, is a LOT of luck, lower numbers and larger home ranges, make them a needle in a hay stack of sorts
but they all live or die by there noses to find food and avoid humans! both you can have some control over, but not all!
a good way to find bears if you live in any Ag area, is start talking to local farmers, and start putting feelers out, asking them about bear crop damage, and if they would be willing to HELP you , help them get bears out of there crops, by asking for permission to hunt there lands, a bear can eat a LOT of crops costing them $$< most farmers Don't value bears as much as BIG BUCKS, so many are more open to allowing you to hunt for them
many guys I know get business cards made up, and give to tons of farmers in off season and ask them to call if they have lots of bear damage in a yr and then work together to get access worked out come bear season!
few folks know bears as well as farmers who get a lot of bear damage! when money is on the table, people learn a lot more than the average person would on animals!
another tip is, tyo talk to the local game wardens, as they too get to hear complaints about bears, from problems one's to crop damage one's
and some times they can be great leads to places to hunt for them!