Growing up in Minnesota I don’t ever recall seeing crickets sold for bait. That may be more of a southern thing and/or mountain trout fishing thing?
The bait shop at the cabin had 3 or 4 types of worms, leeches, and maybe 8 to 12 big bins with various types and sizes of minnows. I wish my memory was better - my grandpa had me get a certain kind of minnow every time. Maybe three inches long. He’s put the hook in right behind the dorsal fin iirc, a small weight and a big bobber and sit out on the dock.
That was too boring for me - I just wanted to cast.
Yeah, it could be a regional thing. We had them in bait shops in California.