I have apples and I have bears, so I have bears in my apples.
I have made peace with the fact bears will do some damage to my trees, but deer, coons, beaver, cold, wind, and drought take a toll too. I fence my trees, which I think helps, but is defiantly not foolproof. I knock fruit off my smaller trees, and pick the apples off the lower branches of trees that are starting to get a little bigger. Finally, I am just beginning to put stove pipe sections around the trunk of my larger trees… a trick I picked up here from Appleman and Willy. Personally, I think the cubs and the coons are the worst offenders, with the bears getting most of the blame. I may not have the bear density others have, but this combination of techniques seems to work. And, I just keep planting a few more trees every year to spread the risk.
Below, an example of Willy’s guard, and my stove pipe clad Ida Red. I think it keeps the coons and cubs out of it, and seems to deter mama bear too.