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Hi Rod.
Yeah this smoke has been a killer recently hey! When trying to observe galaxies, sky darkness and transparency are paramount. For reference my backyard sky is a 6/7 on the bortle scale. Finding galaxies is difficult for me too, and I'm using a 10 inch dob! What I've found is that the smaller ones ( under around 10' in size) and brighter than 11th magnitude I can observe from my backyard in my scope. Moderate magnification of at least 185x enables me to spot the faint glow and also works to darken the sky.
Another way to maximise your chances of observing galaxies is to observe them with no moon around and while they are as high up as possible ( IE at or near culmination). M104 in Virgo is a good suggestion, also NGC 3115 in Sextants has quite a high surface brightness. M 83 is visible in my 10 inch as a moderately bright glow for reference.
Oh another thing that helps in picking out faint objects, averted vision, looking at the object from the side as opposed to direct vision. I find galaxies and gaseous nebulae are the toughest objects to observe in light polluted skies. Good luck, have fun and let us know how you go!
Clear Skies
Joe
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