Corpus Christi Pass was once the main pass from Corpus Christi Bay to the Gulf, but it was very different from Packery Channel. Corpus Christi Pass was about a mile wide, ran southeast to northwest, and was about seven to eight feet deep. Lake Padre is a remnant of the pass. Packery Channel was one channel through Corpus Christi Pass.

After the Civil War, beef-packing plants were opened at the mouth of the pass and it was called Packers' Channel, and eventually Packery Channel. After the Corpus Christi Ship Channel was opened in the 1920's, it disrupted the flow of water through Corpus Christi Pass and it began to silt up.

Some sources say that a hurricane in 1938 completely closed the pass but a 1942 map shows it still open. It remained closed until 2005 when it was reopened as Packery Channel.