Hi, newbie here. I like saltwater fishing a lot (and of course freshwater) but i'm kinda new at it. What rod length/reels size is good for fishing? I will be fishing on jetties most of the time. From experience what is your favorite lure to use (bait can get NASTY). I'm not targeting anything specifically, but i've seen people bring in calico bass, opaleye, blacksmith (rare), and surfperch.

Not too familiar with fishing on the west coast, but here on the east coast, I like using anything between 8ft - 10ft off the jetties with a 4500 - 5000 size reel spooled with 30-40lb braid. You can also use a smaller 7ft rod with a 2500 size reel, but using the longer rod will make it easier to cast. 

Well unlike the east coast jetties which hold a lot of BIG species (lucky), SoCal inshore jetties hold fish that can be big, but most of the time, they're usually 8 inches to about a foot. 2 feet at maximum from what I've seen people haul out. Do you only use braid, no leader? What lures do you use?

A lot of guys will use live bait but also a lot use the fluke/bass assassin/ hollow body fish imitations on a jig head.  There are also some plastic shrimp imitations that I would look at.  Even the Berkley Gulp baits that come in the plastic containers filled with attractant might be worth trying.  Pick one species you mentioned, go on YouTube and do a search for say "jetty fishing for calico bass" or even "southern California jetty fishing" maybe you can get some info that way. There are videos these days on everything. Check these out

These guys were fishing a different swimbait called a BIG Hammer Shad. I fish them for smallmouth bass in large Kentucky Tennessee lakes.

Check this one out on live bait.  It looks like they are using a 7 or 8 foot rod in both of these and the first one the guys were using a round baitcasting  reel. I would load it with 50 pound braid and a 10 to 15 pound leader.   

There are lots more to look at these were just two I thought you might find interesting.  Good Luck