Sensitivity: This is again where I wish Legit Design would take a step back from some of their old school design ideals and not cover SeventyTwo-Plus's blank with that clear, protective gloss coat. This stick has good sensitivity, but I feel performance here could be enhanced without the added weight of that finish. Just the same, if you're looking for a shorter, easier to handle rod to toss soft bodied paddle and wedge tail swimbaits, SeventyTwo-Plus excels in this application. Fished with either line combination of straight fluoro or braid with fluoro, I could get a good sense of my bait as I swam it through emerging weed patches.

Guides are all double footed stainless steel framed with SiC inserts and a bit on the small side - not quite micro

Switching things up to more conventional tactics, I tied a jig onto the end of my line and worked it with a hopping retrieve along some ledges in about fifteen feet of water. SeventyTwo-Plus has good sensitivity fished in this manner as well. While not super crisp in its sensitivity like a G.Loomis NRX, it is certainly sensitive enough to help you sense those pressure bites and distinguish them from your bait getting hung up in weeds. Of course, the "thump-thump" hits are satisfying as well, but just about any stick will help you feel those and if the stick you're using doesn't, then you need to upgrade.

That "plus" in the rod's model number is immediately apparent when you flex the tip of this stick - it's definitely more than a heavy power

Power: This is one area SeventyTwo-Plus scores very well. Not only are hooksets sure and secure with this stick, but control of your catch is rarely in doubt. Whether muscling a fish that's taken a rat bait out from behind cover or pulling up another up out of an offshore weed bed that's taken a jig, hookups and battles with this stick on your side are confidence inspiring. For such a short, powerful stick, it has a nice, smooth power curve.

This bass was muscled out from a nasty cover situation thanks to the WSC72H+

Design & Ergonomics: Where I was disappointed in Legit Design's Big Bait Special in terms of overall weight (8.0oz), the SeventyTwo-Plus is much more manageable. At five and a third ounces (5.3oz), it's far from a light weight, but it is easy and far less cumbersome to fish. The only time weight became an issue was while working that afore mentioned jig in a hopping retrieve. In that case, the tip heavy nature of SeventyTwo-Plus eventually took its toll on my forearm and I had to switch combos for a while before returning.

One of the few things I did not like about this stick is the protective gloss coating over the blank. Perhaps it's needed to keep the Aramid wrap in place?

Those who may have been disappointed with the WSC75XH Big Bait Special's reel seat will be happy to know the SeventyTwo-Plus's reel seat is the traditional, Fuji ECS style seat with the exposed blank design. Mind you, even though there is a cut out in the reel seat and you're able to see and touch graphite through that opening, in the great majority of instances, you're not actually touching the blank but a carbon sleeve fit over the blank to ensure a nice, clean, gap-free fit. So the only real advantage of this design in a reel seat is there's less mass to wrap your fingers around.

Design wise, the WSC72H+ represents the more traditional look for Legit Design's Wild Side series with the split rear grip of mixed materials, purple highlights and so on. Following on with tradition, SeventyTwo-Plus does not come with a hook keeper, but this oversight is quickly corrected with the use of Fuji's EzKeeper. I now keep a stash of this accessory to use on rods that do not come with a keeper or that have one in a location I do not like.

A look at the design of the WSC72H+'s back handle design

Price & Applications: Legit Design's WSC72H+ comes to us with a retail price tag of $335 and is suitable for a wide range of applications from jigs and soft plastics to wake baits and subsurface swimmers. It is very much in line with the JDM do-it-all spec mentioned at the beginning of this article yet easily accessible and available here in the states thanks to the import efforts of Arundel Tackle.

If you want to experience the all around utility and versatility of the JDM wonder-spec, in a stick that's readily available Stateside, I suggest you take a long, hard look at Legit Design's WSC72H+

Conclusion: That confusing JDM wonder-spec strikes again but this time in Legit Designs very versatile WSC72H+, or as I refer to it, SeventyTwo-Plus. It's very easy to dismiss this stick as being to short and stocky to be useful, but those who make that assumption and dismiss the rod's value will be missing out. I've used, and will no doubt continue to use, this stick for everything from big, topwater wake baits, to sub surface swimmers, jigs, Texas rigs, swim jigs, paddletails and more. If you want to experience the all around utility and versatility of the JDM wonder-spec, in a stick that's readily available Stateside, I suggest you take a long, hard look at Legit Design's WSC72H+.

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