Originally Posted by
the_duckinator
"When I have a bit more time and money I hope to learn to dive, although I have a hard time reaching the bottom of a deep swimming pool even with snorkle gear. The pressure gets to me. Hopefully a class would teach you how to get over that. I would enjoy seeing more of the lakes I fish."
This problem is corrected really easily. As you're descending, pinch your nose and blow GENTLY into it. You'll feel your ears "pop". This is called equalizing, because it equalizes the pressure in your head to the pressure under the water. This can be done multiple times during a descent to keep you comfortable. If you can't get your ears to pop it's important to not go any deeper though.
Diving without a tank is called freediving. There's a few of us in the area that freedive the Madison lakes and other south central lakes. Usually we do some underwater spearfishing while we're out. I PM'd you with more info.